Toto Wolff: Red Bull’s domination is “meritocratic”
Despite Lewis Hamilton's superb pole position in Hungary, resisting Max Verstappen was impossible for him at the start of the Grand Prix. Lando Norris and Sergio Pérez even finished ahead of Hamilton, who failed to make it onto the podium. However, Toto Wolff does not want to complain about Red Bull's dominance.
In Hungary, Max Verstappen won his 7th consecutive victory and Red Bull, their 12th, thus breaking the record of 11 consecutive wins held by McLaren for their 1988 season. A dominant performance and a beast behind the wheel, Max Verstappen, who leaves only small crumbs. The Austrian team has won 22 out of the last 23 Grand Prix races.
After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Toto Wolff reflected on Red Bull’s domination. For the Mercedes Team Principal, this dominance is meritocratic and the result of enormous work done by Christian Horner’s team. Toto Wolff is well acquainted with this principle of meritocracy and domination: with Mercedes, they left crumbs for Ferrari and Red Bull from 2014 to 2020.
« I love this sport because it is meritocratic. Entertainment follows the sport, not the other way around,” said Toto Wolff.
« We had those years with Mercedes where we finished one and two in every race, and it certainly wasn’t great for entertainment purposes, which is why we just need to work harder and get back in the game,” he explained. With its developments, Mercedes seems to be on the right track but is being caught up by McLaren, who has been impressive since Silverstone.
Despite possible boredom, Red Bull deserves congratulations
Toto Wolff recalled after the race that fans may find this F1 season somewhat boring. Indeed, there is no suspense for the victory of a Grand Prix, and only battles for the podium are of interest. Toto Wolff mentions the frustration of the fans, seeing Lewis Hamilton on pole and a close qualifying, but a typical Sunday where Max Verstappen finished over 30 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in second place.
« Because many fans would have left frustrated after yesterday, thinking that we were really close together, eager to see what happens today, and then they see a car disappear at sunset,” he explained.
(D) We cannot create a balance between performance or anything that would level the playing field, that’s what (F) the boss of Mercedes said. Toto Wolff wants to fight on the principle of meritocracy, take the fight back to Red Bull, and not touch the dominance of the Austrian team.
« But as I said previously, it’s a meritocracy and as long as you respect the regulations, if you do a better job, we must acknowledge it,” he concluded. »
Meet us in Spa this weekend for the last Grand [Prix] before the summer break. Will Mercedes be able to get closer to the untouchable Red Bull and the giant Max Verstappen?
