Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff is happy that McLaren won the constructors’ title. Of course, the Austrian would have liked his team to achieve this, but since that was not the case, he is satisfied that the crown goes to a customer team of Mercedes HPP, the engine department of the firm.
“To be honest, if we can’t win as a factory team, I’d much rather be beaten by a customer team” Wolff explained. “I have no problem with that, because it shows us where the benchmark is.”
“There are no discussions about engine performance levels, no discussions about engine driving, deployment or energy harvesting. None of that. The world champion is our customer team. They have the same equipment.”
“We are fighting on an equal footing and if they have a better chassis, better execution or better drivers, that suits us perfectly. And that is also a success for Mercedes motorsport. A success for Mercedes and a success for HPP, while we know that our work team is by far the main objective to win.”
According to Wolff, being beaten by a client also allows you to know how to progress: “I think that’s our mentality in this new era, let’s say, that not only do the regulations say you have to be on a level playing field, but it’s also the way we take things.”
“That’s why the question is whether you want to be beaten by a customer team. I’d rather be beaten by a customer team and know what the benchmark is. From that point of view, they have the same chances as us. The cost cap clearly has an effect.”
“As far as ATR is concerned, we are fourth in the championship. Now it’s 20% more ATR than the McLaren, which is advantageous. That’s where they were in the past, but it’s not isn’t the reason they won.”
“They won because of good engineering. It’s as simple as that, good engineering, brilliant management, good drivers. Two drivers who scored points, and you have to give them all the credit for that.”
“Looking at McLaren’s starting point a year and a half ago, they couldn’t even get out of Q1. They had a good race car at the end of last year, and They win the constructors’ title. I mean if someone had told us that two years ago I would have said ‘What planet are you living on?'”
Andrea Stella, the director of McLaren, was pleased to have had such good engines available: “To be honest, we are quite reassured that the performance of the customer power units is as good as that of the factory teams.”
“In addition, we have a very good relationship with HPP, a very open dialogue, and although we appreciate and recognize that ultimately it will always be Mercedes who will have the final say as to our configuration, for example, I think the dialogue with HPP is good, and we know they listen to our opinions.”
“And once again I would like to say that the FIA has done a good job in protecting customer teams so that they can have the opportunity to win races and championships, without having to be a factory team. “
