Toto Wolff: ‘All to play for’ in Mercedes-Ferrari fight for P2

Thomas Maher
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz races Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton at the Dutch Grand Prix. Zandvoort, September 2022.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz races Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton at the Dutch Grand Prix. Zandvoort, September 2022.

Mercedes’ Toto Wolff believes his team can push Ferrari hard for the runner-up spot in this year’s Constructors’ Championship.

With six races remaining in the 2022 season, the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship has closed up considerably.

While Ferrari got their season off to a very strong start, their mid-season slump has coincided with Mercedes surging forwards – meaning the gap between the two outfits has shrunk to just 35 points as the season enters the closing stages.

Having got Monza out of the way, a track at which Mercedes didn’t expect to shine, Wolff is hopeful that Mercedes can close the gap further in the final races in order to ramp up the pressure on the Scuderia.

While Red Bull are almost out of touching distance as they and Max Verstappen close in on the titles, Wolff says the aim is to topple Ferrari for second place.

“I think it’s all to play [for],” he told Sky F1.

“We just need to do the best every single weekend and see whether we come out second.”

After a troubled start to the new regulation cycle with a difficult W13, he was asked whether second place would soften the blow of losing the titles for the first time since 2013.

Lewis Hamilton is overtaken by Max Verstappen at the restart. Netherlands September 2022
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is overtaken by Max Verstappen at the restart. Netherlands September 2022

“Maybe a bit, but there [are] more blows that we are ending up 30 seconds behind the leader,” he said, “and that is the gap that we need to catch up.

“If we finish second, it’s a good motivation for the team. But my eyes are on the next year.”

Having taken third and fifth places at Monza, Wolff said that he believed that to be the “maximum result” the car was capable of, given their straight-line weakness, but attention now turns to a track at which the W13 could be a much more fearsome competitor.

The return of Singapore to the calendar for the first time since the 2019 season means going back to the tight and winding streets around Marina Bay, and George Russell is hopeful of being able to take the fight to Red Bull and Ferrari in three weekends’ time.

“More so than we’ve seen here, there’s no doubt about it,” he said, when asked whether Mercedes will be more competitive next time out.

“I think, on paper, Singapore should suit our car – but when we look back at the street circuits of Monaco and Azerbaijan, our car doesn’t fare too well over the bumps.

“So, we’re not too sure how it will fall out. But we need to keep on pushing, keep on improving the car and I’m pleased that we’ve got a clear direction we need to go now.”