Wolff names two top F1 teams 'both losers'

Mercedes edged out Ferrari by three points to secure second place in the constructors' championship in 2023, but Toto Wolff has admitted that both teams are considered 'losers' in this competitive battle.

The fight for second place between Mercedes and Ferrari was settled at the final race of the 2023 Formula 1 season, but even with the second-place finish, Mercedes still trailed Red Bull by a substantial 451 points.

This led Mercedes team principal Wolff to say that whoever secured second place in the constructors' championship would have still been a loser.

"Both losers," Wolff replied when asked if he preferred finishing second without a win or third with a victory. "It's better to be second for the money and the bonuses, and it is better to be P3 because of the wind-tunnel time.

"Ferrari has 7% more than us though, and we would have had 14% more than Red Bull [if we finished third], but you can't get what you always want. You want the bonuses and the extra wind-tunnel time."

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Mercedes 2024

On the F1 Nation Podcast, Wolff shared his thoughts on the upcoming 2024 season, expressing hope for a significant improvement from the challenging season they experienced in 2023.

Wolff said that Mercedes have the potential to take a significant step, drawing a parallel to the transformative progress Aston Martin achieved at the start of the 2023 season.

“It was actually really good that Aston Martin was so competitive at the beginning of the season," said Wolff. "Because that at least for us made it clear that the rear end is not the problem. The gearbox is not the problem. The engine is not the problem. The rear suspension is not the problem.

"We’ve got to look elsewhere and that's why I like having teams that are on the same spec. Not just bolting on a 10th of downforce and this is just what we need to find.

"So we're going to make a two-and-a-half second step.”

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