Mercedes head into the 2021 season, having won their seventh consecutive world championship title last year. There are quite a few things going for them ahead of the new season.
The W11 was a formidable car that crushed the field, so there is no reason to believe that its successṣor wouldn’t do so. Moreover, Toto Wolff has committed himself to the role of team boss for three more seasons. Albeit Lewis Hamilton is yet to agree to a new contract, one gets the feeling that it’s only a matter of time before he does so.
Therefore, the Silver Arrows look pretty sorted. But are they actually?
Wolff doesn’t seem to think so. The Mercedes boss believes that the upcoming season possesses a different kind of challenge and that the 2022 campaign could be even more challenging.
He said, “For us, it will be an interesting year, because we need to structure ourselves in a different way than we have done before, due to the cost cap.
“We are facing this formidable challenge of slightly tweaked 2021 regulations and a big earthquake of regulatory change for 2022.”
Mercedes F1 looking to tackle 2022 challenge head-on
For a long time now, the Brackley-based outfit has thrived by taking their car to newer levels every season. The team is known to employ some of the best technicians, designers, and engineers and should be well-positioned to handle all sorts of challenges. Indeed, that is why Wolff is optimistic.
He said, “There’s factors that are working against us that motivate us a lot, factors that are working for us, because we believe we have a good organisation.
“But overall, we embrace change and we’ve always done so in the past. So the organisation is very much looking forward into 2022.”
Just quite how their good their 2021 machine will be remains to be seen. Fans will get a chance to see Mercedes’ newest car in action once the pre-season test begins in Bahrain. The test is scheduled to be held from the March 12 to 14.
In the meanwhile, all eyes remain on the contract negotiations of Lewis Hamilton. Silver Arrows’ fans will only breathe easy when that happens. If and when that does happen, Mercedes would feel very confident of a lot more success in 2021.
