The German team have not just fallen behind Red Bull in 2024, but also lack performance compared to rivals Ferrari and McLaren. Now, Wolff has suggested that the team are already fixated on the future following their difficult start to the season.
“No one is going to catch Max this year,” the Austrian said after the Japanese GP. “His driving and the car are just spectacular.
“You can see the way he manages the tyres and basically this season now is best of the rest.
“That’s the fact, that is all, but hopefully we can catch up to the McLarens and to the Ferraris and fight for P2. This is what it is this year and what it was last year and we had a P2 last year.
“If I was to look from a pure sporting point of view it is P1 which matters, not P2, P3 or P4, but this is the reality that we are facing at the moment.
“We’re trying to do the best out of this new reality and that is to beat our competitors whilst acknowledging that somebody is just doing a better job and setting the benchmark that we eventually need to set ourselves again.
“In 2026 there is a big reset that certainly provides the most realistic opportunity for any other team to beat Red Bull but there is one and a quarter seasons until then and I don’t want too much suffering in the next 18 months.”