Toto Wolff sees the current numbers in F1 as good and strong amid chatter of Red Bull dominance – which he reckons is cycle of the sport.
After the end of Mercedes’ dominance, the new cycle of Red Bull supremacy has once again brought about the discussion around fans turning away from the sport. But Wolff doesn’t thinks so as he acknowledges the strong numbers that is only increasing.
He feels it is all about spectacle and if a team is dominating, it is just part of how the sport has always been. If one team is doing a mega job, onus is on others to push and hustle them, which is why Wolff is not waiting until 2026 to do it.
Mercedes has already decided to change the concept and take a new route from 2024 in the bid to catch Red Bull. “The audience numbers that we are seeing are strong,” said Wolff. “We are growing on social media, we see races that are packed and sold out. As a matter of fact, it is all around the spectacle and if the spectacle is not good, our fans are going to follow us less.
“But what I always say in this sport, it is I like the honesty. The spectacle follows the sport. This is a meritocracy: whoever is doing the best job wins, and if somebody is doing a much better job than everybody else then they’re winning 19 races. And you can’t stop that. It’s a matter of fact.
“So it is us and Ferrari and all the other teams that have to do a better job in order to compete with Red Bull – and we can’t change anything. Of course, there is the risk that at a certain point people are going to say: ‘Well, I know the result anyway.’ It happened to us with Lewis for many years. But you’ve just got to do a better job – and I don’t want to wait until 2026,” summed up Wolff.
Here’s F1 2023 teams’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s F1 2023 drivers’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
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