As it stands right now, Scuderia Ferrari is the class of Formula One. And although accepting that fact likely isn’t easy for Mercedes-AMG Petronas, the team can see the writing on the wall.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recently admitted to Motorsport.com that, after being the pace-setter for the last three years, the team is on the back foot.
Currently trailing Ferrari by 17 points in the constructor championship, Mercedes has its work cut out for it if it wants to win its fourth-consecutive title. And, with a 25-point deficit to Sebastian Vettel staring him in the face, Lewis Hamilton is going to need a lot of things go his way if he wants to win the driver’s championship.
“As a matter of fact, I think we’ve been that since the beginning of the season,” Wolff told Motorsport.com. “We have been dropping in and out of the tire window, we never had two drivers or two cars over the course of the weekend within that window.”
The problem, according to Wolff, is getting everyone firing on the same cylinder, something Ferrari’s been able to do all season long.
“On the opposite side, Ferrari put the car on track in Barcelona and they were quick from the get go, so yes, we are the underdog,” Wolff said, via Motorsport.com. “We need to catch up and this is the reality at the moment.”
Still, seeing another team being the favorite is something Wolff embraces.
“I like the notion of underdog, because the underdog is the one people want to see win.”
At the end of the day, life clearly isn’t that bad at Mercedes. McLaren-Honda, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.
Thumbnail photo via Mercedes-AMG Petronas
