Wolff reveals crucial Mercedes advantage in title fight absence

Toto Wolff has revealed a crucial advantage for Mercedes in not being in the championship fight this season. 

Mercedes sit fourth in the constructors' championship and are well adrift of Ferrari in third. The Maranello-based team boast a 116-point advantage over the Silver Arrows. 

Fourth looks set to be where the Brackley-based team will finish in the standings this year, despite three recent victories ahead of the summer break. 

Since the end of the summer break, Mercedes has struggled to compete with McLaren and Ferrari. 

George Russell did finish third in Azerbaijan last weekend, although this was inherited after Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashed on the penultimate lap. 

The Mercedes team principal recognises the outfit needs to keep pushing, not only to improve the current campaign but also with a look ahead to next year.

"We cannot rest on our laurels after three victories before the summer break," Wolff told OE24. 

"There are still seven races to go. We also want to set the direction for the development of the new car, because our performance next year will depend on it. 

"And it's not like we're shouting: Hurrah, hurrah! In the constructors' championship we are only fourth with little hope of third place. But that can also bring advantages."

Mercedes' 'silver lining'

Should Mercedes finish fourth in the constructors' championship, then the German outfit will receive more wind tunnel time than McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari. 

In F1, a sliding scale is used to determine how much wind tunnel time a team receives every year. The higher a team finishes, the less wind tunnel time they receive.

As a result, Mercedes are set to receive more than all its rivals, which will be a significant boost for the team's 2025 and 2026 development. 

"As fourth, we get more wind tunnel time, and that can help us a lot with development next year," explained Wolff. "We're talking about the year 2026..."

When asked if he was referring to the new power unit regulations, Wolff answered: "Exactly. That's the silver lining for us."