Wolff sees favourite for the title: "Red Bull is a bit faster on paper"

22 August 2021 at 09:15

Last update 22 August 2021 at 13:00

GPblog.com

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has revealed he won't be saying goodbye to Mercedes for the time being. The team boss sees the Formula 1 team as a long-term project. He also admitted that he feels Red Bull Racing have a slight advantage in the 2021 title race.

Wolff explained that he thought about taking a temporary step back and leaving Formula 1, but after careful consideration the Austrian decided otherwise: "I was thinking about going back to finance for a year," he explained in an interview with Bild am Sonntag.

Longer time at Mercedes

"But we at Mercedes have decided together that Formula 1 is not just another marketing platform that we want to use for a short time," Wolff continued. Recently, Mercedes did indicate that it was pulling the plug on the Formula E project in order to focus on Formula 1.

Wolff will also be there in the coming years, but might take a step back: "Since I own 33% of the team shares, I will definitely be there. But that doesn't necessarily mean I have to be the team boss."

Red Bull as title favourite

Currently Mercedes are in a fierce title battle with Red Bull and according to Wolff, Red Bull are the favourites: "Red Bull is a bit faster on paper. But we'll fight until the end. And we have to, because this championship goes on until the end." It's very exciting in the battle for both drivers' and constructors' titles. Lewis Hamilton has an eight-point lead over Max Verstappen in the drivers' field, while Mercedes have a 12-point lead in the constructors'.