F1 News: Toto Wolff Takes A Stand Against Red Bull - "I Don't Want To Wait"
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has expressed that he is unwilling to wait until 2026 rules reset to end Red Bull's dominance. The message to his team is clear that it must "do a better job to compete with Red Bull."
Red Bull smashed several records this year, courtesy of the best partnership between Max Verstappen and their much more potent RB19 F1 car that saw him win 19 out of the 22 races.
In total, the team won 21 out of the 22 Grands Prix this year, with contributions from Sergio Perez as well. However, Carlos Sainz managed to slip away with one win for Ferrari in Singapore.
Mercedes went winless this year, the first time since 2011, and Wolff isn't taking that lightly. While the team's struggles were attributed to the W14's unpredictable nature, the team boss has been pushing his team to bring out the best title contender for 2024.
Speaking to the media, Wolff claimed that not only Mercedes but even the other teams must strive to end Red Bull's dominance for the sake of the fans and sport, or else the race outcome will continue to remain predictable. When asked if the sport could survive another season with Red Bull dominance, he said:
"The numbers that we are seeing are strong.
"We are growing on social media, we see that races are packed and sold out, but as a matter of fact, it is all around the spectacle, and if the spectacle is not good, our fans are going to follow us less.
"What I always say is that I like the honesty in that the spectacle always follows the sport, and the sport is a meritocracy.
"Whoever is doing the best job wins, and if somebody is doing a much better job, then they win [21] races, and you can't stop that.
"Us, Ferrari and all the other teams have to do a better job to compete with Red Bull and if we can't change anything, then people are going to say [before the race]: 'Well I know the result.'
"It happened to us with Lewis [Hamilton] many years ago, but you've just got to do a better job. I don't want to wait until 2026."
