"It’s going to go in the caves"- Mercedes boss on W13's fate after 2022 F1 season

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said that the W13's legacy does not seem to be a strong one. He said that at the Belgian GP last weekend, there were far too many swings in performance. The Mercedes drivers qualified behind the Alpine ones, and even the Williams of Alex Albon was close in terms of lap speed.

After producing a championship winning car for eight years, Wolff admitted that this year's Mercedes challenger would not find itself in the showroom in Stuttgart. Elaborating on the car's performance, Wolff said:

"It's very difficult to cope with these swings (in performance). We had a totally subpar performance yesterday (in qualifying). Being beaten by the Alpine's, Albon very strong, Valtteri would’ve been right there, Norris probably, then in the race at times we go three seconds a lap faster. So big question marks about what's going on."

He added:

"It’s not where we should be with (our) structure and knowledge to understand a racing car, but we don't with this one. That car, I don't think it's going to have the highest place in the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Maybe it’s going to go in the caves!"

Talking about the incident between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, where the Mercedes driver clashed into the Spaniard, Wolff said that it was the seven-time world champion who was at fault. He said:

"He just left him no room on the inside. Fernando was on the kerb already, and there is not much more that he could have done. Sorry for the incident from the team's point of view; it rarely happens to Lewis."

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Mercedes boss says team needs to stay level-headed after Spa

The Mercedes boss had no qualms admitting that the race in Spa was a weird one.

The car's performance was too up and down. Wolff said that the team cannot be satisfied with that and called on a more level-headed approach amidst the fluctuation in form. He admitted that the car lacked pace compared to Red Bull, something the team needs to address quickly.

"I don't think we can be satisfied with this weekend - if you see Verstappen, he has leaped above us all," said Wolff. "We really need to find out how we can improve our car because the gap is just too big. We're giving the drivers a very difficult car to drive, and it hasn't got the pace on a single lap, so we need to work ourselves out of this situation."

He added:

"Over the next four days, we'll be putting our heads together, setting our sights on the next race and also next season. It's important we stay level-headed, keep our spirits up and don't flip too much between elation and depression - this weekend is a low, but in Hungary three weeks ago, we were thinking we will absolutely win a race, so we'll never give up.

The team will hope for a return to form at the next stop in the Dutch GP in Zandvoort.

Also Checkout:- F1 Schedule 2022