Mercedes team boss confident: 'We can beat Red Bull before 2026'

Battle with Red Bull

When asked if Red Bull can be beaten before 2026, Wolff replied firmly: "I wouldn't be in this sport if I didn't think it was possible. If you consider how much Aston Martin has grown in the winter and the leap forward McLaren has made in the summer, if we could find three or four-tenths, we would be in it again."

So the Mercedes team boss is sticking to the leaps the competition made last year. Because they can, so can Mercedes. The potential is there, but it just needs to be unlocked. "We know that our bolide has more in it than it has shown so far, but we have not yet figured out how to achieve that. But that makes us optimistic [for the future]," the team boss told La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

So there is more in store for Wolff's formation, but the annoying thing for the Germans is: that this has been the case for almost two full seasons. Mercedes hit the mark with the W13, but the concept was not completely cast aside. The W14 was a further development of the 2022 car, a wrong choice as it turned out at the start of this season. Mercedes is second in the Constructors' World Championship in its own hands, but the gap to Red Bull is far too big for a top team like Mercedes.

Wolff can count on Hamilton

In the hunt for Max Verstappen, Wolff can at least still have seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at his disposal for the next two seasons. The 38-year-old Briton's contract expired, but he recently signed a commitment for another two seasons in German service. The contract extension was a long time coming, but Wolff stressed once again that he was never worried.

"There was some delay, but it was clear that it would end like this, with Lewis staying with us. He and I are always very transparent in our dealings," said Wolff, who saw media reports that Hamilton had spoken to Ferrari president John Elkann. Lewis was ahead of the game: "A while ago he said to me: 'I saw John Elkann at dinner, but know I'm not going anywhere'. Then he warned me again when it was in the news: 'Toto, I'm not conducting negotiations'."

He continued: "But I understand the rumours that arose: the announced signing only came after six months, but that was only for marketing and sponsorship reasons. With me, there was never a millimetre of doubt. And then we also have for two seasons George [Russell], who is the future of this team, raised at Mercedes, the next generation after Hamilton. We are happy."