Toto Wolff tried to air a sense of defiance after Mercedes’ humbling 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, claiming the team is fired up to tackle the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix this weekend in Zandvoort.
The eight-time Formula 1 Constructors’ Champions got a slapped in the face at Spa, as there best qualifying car – Lewis Hamilton – was 1.8s off the pace of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull after they were hoping that an upgrade as well as the full implementation of TD039 will improve their chances.
With it known that Verstappen would take a power unit penalty, Hamilton may have also ventured to think about a win in Belgium, but his clumsy incident at the start of the race put an end to such aspirations.
Despite George Russell salvaging fourth for the team, he was over 30s off the winning Red Bull of Verstappen who was cruising towards the end of the race, which further proves the Silver Arrows lack of pace.
“Belgium was a challenging weekend for us as a Team, but those weekends are the ones that really fire you up and make you dig deeper,” Toto Wolff said in Mercedes’ preview of this weekend’s race.
Belgium a weekend of extremes
“There were such big extremes across the weekend; from the pace differences on Saturday and Sunday, to the difficult first lap for Lewis and George’s late charge for a podium,” he added.
“We’ve been working hard to understand our Spa struggles and thankfully we don’t have long to wait until we can bring utilise and maximise those learnings.
“What will make the difference for the rest of this season is how quickly and effectively we can continue learning, to deliver our best performance this year and next,” the Austrian pointed out.
“The Dutch Grand Prix is next, and it was a real party atmosphere last year,” he said. “It’s an interesting, old-school track with sweeping bends, banked corners and a lot of character.
“So, we’re excited to be back there and to take on the circuit’s challenges with this year’s car,” Wolff concluded.
We can’t wait to see all the incredible F1 fans who gave us an amazing welcome last year.🙌 pic.twitter.com/gtHUk6ACRp
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 31, 2022