Ferrari and McLaren attack, Mercedes is ready to react: “Developments? Yes, we are behind. But we have a plan”

Period of (slight) decline

After winning all the first six GPs of the season, Mercedes has occupied the top step of the podium ‘only’ twice in the last five races, leaving two victories to Ferrari and one – in the last GP before the summer break – to McLaren. The silver arrows are still the absolute masters of the championship, with a 72-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings and with Andrea Kimi Antonelli leading the Drivers’ World Championship with a 50-point lead over Lewis Hamilton and 59 over teammate George Russell; yet team principal Toto Wolff is aware that this lead could have been even greater in both standings. Reliability issues and a few too many mistakes have meant that the Brackley team has not sealed the World Championship and has left a small gap still open for rivals, Ferrari and McLaren above all.

Toto’s plan

Wolff himself, presenting the Dutch GP weekend, took stock of the current situation of Mercedes, acknowledging that they are behind Maranello and Woking in terms of updates brought, but also hinting at the idea – unsettling for rivals – that everything is actually going according to plan: “We have thrown away points, our rivals have closed the gap in terms of performance and we know that the second half of the year will require a greater effort from us than the first. Championships will be decided based on execution and the development pace we manage to give the car in the next 12 races – Wolff observed – although we are slightly behind with updates compared to our rivals, we still have potential to unlock and a clear development plan to do so”.

“Zandvoort represents a unique challenge since its return to the calendar – the Austrian manager added again ahead of the orange weekend – it is a difficult circuit to master, the fans create an incredible atmosphere and it has become a highly anticipated race for teams and drivers. We have come close, but have never won there in the modern era. This is our last chance to change things and it is a challenge we would like to take on“.

Translated from