Wolff: “Every team can be a title contender”

On the occasion of the presentation of the W08 EQ Power+ at Silverstone (Great Britain), the executive president of Mercedes Motorsport Toto wolff shared his impressions before the start of the season which will take place on the weekend of March 26 in Melbourne (Australia). If the star manufacturer is the team to beat after 3 years of domination, it remains cautious about its potential with the implementation of the new regulations.

“We must have in mind that each team can be a contender for the title, underlined Toto Wolff. We have a great example in 2009 with Brawn GP. Renault has also progressed well and we must take them seriously. The result is a package comprising many points, whether it be the drivers, the team, the car… We cannot take anything for granted. Starting from scratch involves taking significant risks for everyone. The season can be very different from previous ones. »

If you feel like you want to take the F1 of the 2017 season will be on track next week in Barcelona (Spain) for the first session of winter testing, the results recorded should not yet allow us to get an idea of ​​the forces present.

“The Barcelona tests will not establish a hierarchy. The main focus is on data collection and tire behavior. The study of performance will only arrive afterwards », recalled the Austrian.

Toto Wolff also returned to the controversy concerning the comments of Lewis Hamilton who complained about having to share the data with his teammate.

“There is no controversy with Lewis on this subject. Sharing data makes the car more efficient and it has been an important factor in our success. Lewis understands very well that we will continue as we have done until now and he has no problem with that”, concluded Toto Wolff.