Former F1 racer explains why Mercedes boss Toto Wolff 'wouldn’t sleep well at the moment'

Former F1 racer Hans-Joachim Stuck reckons Mercedes boss Toto Wolff would not be sleeping well at the moment due to the emergence of new contenders. The German team's 2023 season has been far from ideal.

They started talking a big game about how a title challenge was on the table. However, after the first race, it was evident a title challenge looked unlikely. Since then, they have changed the car concept and introduced a different version in Monaco, becoming the second fastest car on the grid.

Mercedes have secured a few podiums and even got pole with Lewis Hamilton in Hungary. However, the gap to Red Bull remains roughly the same as it was at the start of the season.

Moreover, McLaren have emerged out of the blue and become a frontrunner. Talking to Eurosport, Hans talked about the recent surge of new teams and how that's going to make things uncomfortable for Wolff. He said:

"There are teams like McLaren who – of course also because of the talent of their two drivers – have recognized where they have to go and are now extremely close to this goal,” he said.

"A big compliment for that! If I were Toto Wolff, I wouldn’t sleep well at the moment.”

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Mercedes not at Red Bull's level anymore: Hans

Hans complimented Red Bull for making the most of the regulations while admitting that neither Ferrari - a team where 'stupid things happen elsewhere' - nor Mercedes are on the Austrian team's level anymore:

"In the end, the conditions are the same everywhere and everyone has to make the best of it. At the moment only Red Bull is doing that. Ferrari has a good speed, but all kinds of stupid things happen elsewhere and Mercedes is simply not on the level of Red Bull anymore. There’s no question about that.”

Toto Wolff has more than one issue at hand as F1 enters the summer break. as the Austrian is also trying to finalise Lewis Hamilton's contract.

Much has been made and regular updates as well have been given about the status of the contract extension. With the process getting delayed, there's certainly an indication that not everything is rosy at the moment between the driver and the team.