Toto Wolff has offered a sorry, not sorry response to growing concerns over Mercedes’ renewed domination in Formula 1.
It was thought this year might see another fierce battle between the German manufacturer and Ferrari, with Red Bull getting in the act once settled with new engine supplier Honda.
Instead, Mercedes have scored five consecutive 1-2 finishes with a package far superior to their rivals in Spain, leading to big questions of the overall health of F1.
“Mercedes has done very well. Credit to Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff,” Greg Maffei, CEO of F1 owners Liberty Media commented earlier this week
“They are doing too well, we would like to see a lot more [action] on any given Sunday but we will see.”
McLaren driver Carlos Sainz also cited the lack of competition as a problem for races trying to attracting crowds.
“It would be a shame to lose this [Spanish] Grand Prix, but I think everyone agrees that basically, we need to create a bit better of a show,” he told Motorsport.com.
“The crowd is not going to come here to see always the same result, always the same people winning, and we need to see something more.
“See more people on the podiums, winning, to make F1 more attractive.
“My grandstand is full because people like me, but don’t forget that people are coming from all around Europe,” Sainz continued.
“And I think we will see, maybe except for Britain where people are crazy for F1, that it’s very difficult to attract people to the tracks when there’s always the same people winning and the same results always happening.
“You know basically what’s going to happen in every race.”
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Though only a quarter of the way through 2019, Mercedes already has a 96 point lead in the Teams’ standings with a gap of nearing 50 points between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the Drivers’ Championship.
“I think it’s very much a Mercedes championship, you can see after five races they are three points off a maximum score,” Red Bull’s Christian Horner told F1i.com.
“It’s still a long year and we take things race-by-race.
“They had a really dominant performance. They’re always strong in Barcelona but certainly, their fifth one-two finish is exceedingly dominant.”
Commenting on the debate, however, Wolff admits he has to look at it from both perspectives.
“I’m in an awkward position, actually, I’m not in an awkward position. I’m in a pretty clear position because we’re really trying to perform as well as we can,” he said.
“We pushed the benchmark and we push the needle and we try to be better as a group every single day and every single year.
“This team coming together with the struggles that we had in the winter is just a super satisfaction for the team and the group and this is what my personal feeling is.”
However: “On the other side, if I take myself out from my Mercedes standpoint and all of the group, of course as a fan you want variability and unpredictability,” Wolff added.
“I can relate to the sport needing to have a certain variability, but where we are, it can’t be an objective for us.
“I also feel that it’s bad karma if we were to really think that we are walking on water – then next weekend you’re going to get one in the face for sure.”
