Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, like many others, is surprised by the sudden slump in form from Red Bull. Max Verstappen seemed to be dominating the championship for a long time, but since the Spanish Grand Prix, his team’s performance has been lacking. With two championships at stake for Red Bull, Wolff emphasizes that their closest rivals won’t give up easily.
Toto Wolff expressed his astonishment at Red Bull’s recent performances after the Italian Grand Prix. According to Wolff, the team, which started the season so dominantly, is in a significant slump. “It’s really strange,” the Austrian responded. “Of course, I’m not on top of it, but this is not the Red Bull we saw at the beginning of the year – dominant.”
The Mercedes chief believes the team is relying on Max Verstappen to save the season. “Verstappen can make up some points with his talent, but so far, based on the results, it doesn’t seem to be going well,” said Wolff. “Monza was probably one of the worst races we’ve seen in years,” he noted. “Red Bull had zero speed.” Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Pérez finished sixth and eighth respectively.
‘You Can’t Write Them Off’
“We also had two years where nothing worked, and the same was true for Ferrari a few races ago,” added the Austrian. “So I don’t think you can write them off. They are a formidable team and I’m sure there will be better races to come.” However, Toto Wolff believes that Red Bull can forget about the constructors’ title. “McLaren is now clearly the favorite in the championship. They have two drivers who score points and I bet Red Bull didn’t expect that at the beginning of the year.”
Yet, in Monza, it was neither Red Bull nor McLaren who took the win. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc proved to be the fastest in the presence of the ecstatic tifosi. “That’s just great for Formula 1, it’s really rock-‘n-roll,” Toto Wolff responded. “It also shows what’s possible. Ferrari had a few really bad weekends and then suddenly came to life. These fluctuations between the top four teams are great news for the fans and great news for the sport. There are literally seven or eight cars that can fight for a podium!”
