Toto Wolff says F1 2025 will be year of managing expectations not just for Mercedes, but also its drivers and race wins are not given considering the competition.
With the departure of Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes is entering a new world with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in 2025. Considering the lack of extensive regulation change from 2024, the F1 team will have its task cut out against the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.
All three F1 teams looked a touch better in 2024 and were more or less ahead of Mercedes, even though the German team picked up handful of race wins. Team boss Wolff acknowledges that but admits that the 2025 F1 season will be a year of managing expectations of team and drivers.
The variables will allow for different teams to attack and win races, but for the championship, the car needs to be consistent enough which seems unlikely for Mercedes considering the lack of big changes. Wolff understands that race wins will not be given for them as such.
“I think there’s two ways to look at it, obviously, 2025, the same regulations, you can see that the packing order varies depending on the track,” said Wolff to media. “And I think the opportunity is there to fight for victories. And if you can do that, you will fight for a championship. It’s also going to be a year where George will settle in as the leading and senior driver, and Kimi is going to learn.
“Sometimes we will tear our hair out; other times we will see moments of brilliance. But it’s also a year of managing expectations for Kimi and preparing our driver lineup for 2026. I think you can see that at least when you look at the wins in 2024, Red Bull’s year has been defined by the victories at the beginning of the year. But you will have those data better.
“If you look from half year, those four teams are pretty close. I think McLaren won six, Ferrari five, us four, and Red Bull took nine. So, yeah, this is it. We’d love to be in the fight with the other teams. We’d love to compete for victories on merit. But it’s not a given. It’s absolutely something we need to fight for,” summed up Wolff.
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