Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes a Formula 1 race win would hold greater value to the team than finishing second in the 2022 Constructors' Championship. The team are in danger of a first winless campaign since 2011. with Lewis Hamilton at risk of recording zero Grand Prix wins in a season for the first time in his career, with the W13 proving a troublesome design. First the team had to overcome porpoising only to then find the new ground-effect machine was too draggy to be competitive on a consistent basis, with the car preferring high-downforce circuits such the Hungaroring or Zandvoort. Despite this, the team is just 40 points behind Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship heading into the penultimate race of the season in Brazil. but Wolff admits Mercedes would much rather finish third if it meant taking a first win since Saudi Arabia 2021.
Wolff: A win would prove we're back
When asked by media, including RacingNews365.com , what his preference would be over the remaining two events, Wolff was adamant in his reply. "A win," the Austrian explained. When asked to elaborate further, he explained how he felt finishing P2 in the Constructors' standings would not be the best showcase of Mercedes, but would instead point to a below-par performance from Ferrari. "The win would prove that our car is back in the fight for wins," he said. "[Finishing] P2 could also be because others just dropped the ball, and you are scoring more points."
Still chances for Mercedes to win
The Mexican GP venue suited the W13, with the high altitude negating the effect of the drag on the car and allowing the team to fight with Red Bull for Pole Position and the win. "On the simulations, it says yes [this was our best chance to win this year]," Wolff explained. "But we see the tendency that we are able to compete and I'm really proud of the team with what we did this weekend. "We experimented with a lot of things - the engine guys pushed the boundaries to really give us maximum performance so I think it will be a mix between trying to maximise [this year] and trying the most for next year. "I am never confident, I always see the glass half empty, so there is nothing really to see that's positive. "There's no reason to be overwhelmed finishing second and fourth, but we have a long way to catch up. "We have the winter and I think we're doing some good development on the car and some of the biggest steps might be more than just adding a few points of downforce. "We're giving it whatever we have and more in order to bring us back in a position to fight for a championship."
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