"Ferrari hasn't won a Constructors' Championship since 2008" - Toto Wolff on Mercedes' lean patch since 2021

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff fired shots at rivals Ferrari and McLaren while addressing the German team's decline since the end of the 2021 season. The former world champions have only registered a single race win in the new regulations since the beginning of the 2022 season.

They had previously dominated the Turbo-Hybrid era as they won every single Constructors' Championship from 2014 to 2021 while also adding seven Drivers' Championship during that time.

Speaking to PA, the Mercedes team boss recognized that they were experiencing a light slump, saying:

“We have finished first 115 times and have been beaten in the last 50 races. This is not where we want to be and the feeling we are experiencing is horrible. But on Monday morning we regroup and set off again."

However, Wolff cited the example of Ferrari's 16-year drought and McLaren's 26-year drought for a Constrcutors' title while chiming in on Mercedes's lack of success, adding:

"Ferrari hasn't won a constructors' championship since 2008. Red Bull failed to do so for eight years in a row because we were the ones who won. We have to put things in perspective: it's the third year we haven't won, it's not eight and it's not 16. "

"If we think about McLaren, they haven't won a Constructors' Championship since 1998 and a Drivers' World Championship since 2008. Last year we came second: it's not enough, but in 10 or 20 years you'll see that we won eight championships in a row and then we lost some three, or maybe four, not 16. ”

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Mercedes team boss gives his take on Lewis Hamilton's recent qualifying woes

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated that they would always be 'transparent' about their drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and won't have a favorite.

The seven-time world champion had recently hinted that they didn't envision beating his young compatriot in qualifying for the rest of the year.

Speaking with F1.com, Wolff gave his take on Hamilton's comments and said:

“All drivers [are] a bit skeptical at times. I think as a team, we’ve demonstrated that even in the most tense competitions between teammates, we are trying to always balance it right and be transparent and fair."

“I can understand as a driver, you want the best out of yourself and the team, [and] sometimes when it’s going against you, you can question it."

Wolff also pointed out that as a team "they are 100 percent on a mission of giving the two drivers two great cars, the best possible cars, and the best possible strategies and support.”

George Russell currently leads Lewis Hamilton 7-1 in the qualifying head-to-head and is also ahead in the Drivers' Championship, as the former currently stands in P7 compared to Hamilton's P8.