Toto Wolff says it would be "awesome" if Mercedes are able to win a Formula 1 race "on merit" in 2022 as the team's win drought continues. The eight-time Constructors' champions fumbled the new technical regulations for 2022 with the W13 suffering the porpoising for large chunks of the season, with the design also being draggy. It has limited Mercedes' potential to contend for race wins to high downforce circuits, with the best results being second places for both Lewis Hamilton (France, Hungary) and George Russell (Netherlands.) Faced with the prospect of a first winless season in F1 since 2011, and potentially Hamilton going winless for the first season in his entire career, Wolff believes a win is still possible "on merit."
"Awesome" to win "on merit"
Mercedes last win came via Hamilton at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December with the team never getting beyond the summer break without at least one win since the breakthrough victory for Nico Rosberg in China 2012. Despite not being in contention for either championship, Wolff still believes the potential of the W13 is enough to secure a win. "I think it would have be awesome if we could win a race on merit, without any grid penalties," Wolff explained to media including RacingNews365.com. "If you had asked after Spa, I would have said it was nearly impossible, but we nearly won in Zandvoort, but in Monza it was not so good. "It must be the target - we don't want to have a season with no race wins. "Even if the sails are set for 2023, it would quite a nice thing in a difficult season for all our people."
Wolff on Singapore chances
Singapore, on paper at least, is the track best suited to the Mercedes package, with its high downforce nature of those that remain on the calendar in 2022. However while that could suit the team, Wolff did err on the side of caution when playing up their chances. "I think the track layout should suit our car, the bumps not," he explained. "The simulations say it should be one of our better tracks, but I'm trying to stay on the careful side with any predictions for Singapore." Despite Singapore not historically being a Mercedes track, it still has four wins there in the turbo hybrid era, in 2014 and 2016-18.
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