‘We do this by eliminating all relics of the past’

Finley Crebolder
Mercedes celebrate the seventh World Championship for Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes celebrate the seventh World Championship for Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff says that to avoid becoming complacent, Mercedes constantly eliminate all “relics” of their past successes.

The German team have become the most dominant force in the history of the sport since the start of the hybrid era in 2014, winning the title double every season since then.

Wolff has often spoken of the importance of not becoming complacent due to such success, believing that could allow their competition to catch them.

The Austrian says they do so by getting rid of all reminders of what they achieved in the past.

“It’s quite interesting. It’s something I read from a famous baseball coach: ‘yesterday’s home run doesn’t win you today’s game’. That’s very much true,” he said in a discussion with Oxford University as per GPFans.

“We are trying with simple actions to forget about the success of the past few years. Every point goes to zero and you can build upon the organisation but as everything starts from new, you have to earn your laurels again.

“We do this by basically eliminating all relics of the past, all trophies, everything that shows us we have won seven consecutive championships because you cannot rely on that.

“It’s important to acknowledge the competition is fierce and it’s the best people in the industry and you’ve just got to do the best job again in this coming year in every session and every day rather than relying on past success.”

Max Verstappen Red Bull Monaco GP
Max Verstappen Red Bull

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Wolff and co are facing a serious challenge from another team for the first time since 2018 this year, with Red Bull leading both sets of standings after Max Verstappen’s win in Monaco.

Mercedes will be hoping to take back control in Baku, but the team principal is not so sure they will be able to.

“While it’s a very different street circuit to Monaco, we expect it to be another tricky one for us, not particularly suiting the characteristics and traits of the W12,” he said in the team’s preview for the race.

“Red Bull will be strong again, while both Ferrari and McLaren have made great progress recently.

“A key focus for us has to be exploiting the opportunities available to us on those outlier tracks which aren’t suited to our car – when the points are there, we need to grab them.

“There will be swings back and forth in this fight, which is exciting for the sport and exciting for us.

“We are expecting another challenge on the city streets and after the results of the last race, we are more determined and fired up than ever to bounce back in Baku.”

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