Mercedes boss Toto Wolff keeping his expectations ‘realistic’ ahead of 2023 season

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff remains cautiously optimistic ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season as he believes expectations have to be at a "realistic level".

The team had a difficult 2022 campaign, where they won just one race and saw their eight-year Constructors' Championship winning streak come to an end. Red Bull Racing won the title, followed by Scuderia Ferrari.

The Silver Arrows' W13 struggled with bouncing issues following a widespread change in the sport's regulations. However, they improved as the season progressed and closed the gap to the top two teams by the end.

With the new season fast approaching, Wolff is optimistic about Mercedes' chances. However, he isn't expecting the team to be pushing Red Bull and Ferrari from the get-go.

He told Sky Sports:

"We have no doubt, when you are starting behind by half a second, it's going to be difficult to catch up to great organisations like Red Bull and Ferrari. Having said that, we are super determined in doing just that, but we need to set our expectations at a realistic level."

He added:

"If we perform in the way we hope, then we'd like to be part of the racing at the very front. I think that would be a starting point, but we don't take that for granted. It could well be that the gaps are like they were at the end of last season."

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F1 cost cap has helped 'protect us from ourselves': Mercedes boss Toto Wolff

Ahead of the 2021 F1 season, the FIA imposed new cost cap rules that disallowed teams from spending more than a set amount on research and development. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has spoken positively of the change.

The Austrian appreciated the cost cap rules as he believes that they help the top midfield teams challenge the frontrunners.

He said:

"The key change was the cost cap introduced by Chase Carey [former executive chairman of F1] to protect us from ourselves."

He further added:

"The situation before was that Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes were fighting in their own league in a revolving spending war, but the smaller teams were not competitive."