Wolff cites seven wins to reject ‘complete losers’ label for Mercedes

Mercedes won seven races between 2022 and 2025 and finished third, second, fourth and second in the constructors’ championship over those seasons. Toto Wolff cited that record to reject the description of the team as “complete losers” during the ground-effect era.

Mercedes struggled to fully understand the regulations and never truly looked capable of challenging Red Bull and later McLaren. Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, Wolff described a drawn-out cycle: the team would think it had identified what was wrong, then realise it still did not understand the problem.

In 2026, under Formula 1’s new rules, Mercedes returned to title-winning form: Kimi Antonelli secured his first drivers’ crown and the team its ninth constructors’ championship. Wolff said the numbers were not bad in retrospect, even though the four campaigns felt very difficult at the time. He also credited the team’s resilience and the people who held together through those years.