Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes, has stated that the 2021 Formula 1 regulations were designed to harm his team which is one of the reasons why they lost the drivers’ championship.
Despite a record-equalling seventh world title for their driver Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes realized that they would face tough competition from Red Bull and Max Verstappen in 2021.
Changes to the floor regulations were announced midway through 2020 for the 2021 season, which limited the floor and aimed to reduce downforce.
These changes appeared to have the most significant impact on the low-rake cars, including Mercedes and Aston Martin.
Hamilton controversially lost the driver’s title on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to Verstappen following a late-race safety car intervention.
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Wolff clarified that his team lost the 2021 drivers’ championship for many reasons, including the final race, but also due to the new regulations that were set to reduce the advantage they had.
The team had a super dominant year in 2020, and the regulations were changed towards the end of the season by cutting the floor to prevent them from winning again.
The results in 2021 showed that they were not as competitive as Red Bull, but they managed to unlock more potential of the car at Silverstone and got themselves back into the championship.
These regulations were designed to reset the pecking order.
Mercedes was the last team to beat Red Bull, and since last year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Red Bull has won 15 races in a row, setting new records themselves.
Verstappen is on course to set new benchmarks for the most wins and podiums in a season and has already made history with the most consecutive victories for a driver.
He is looking to add to his ten straight wins this weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1.
Mercedes had their dominant seasons between 2014 and 2016, plus 2020 when they were clearly in a league of their own.
However, Wolff believes that it is up to Mercedes to catch up rather than changing the rules to slow down a dominant team.
He emphasized that this is a meritocracy and that the team that complies with the regulations, technical, sporting, and financial, deserves to win.
He stated that it’s up to Mercedes to catch up, even if it takes a long time.
Wolff added that the entertainment follows sport and not the other way around and that they shouldn’t be scripted content like WWE.
