“That was to stop us”: Toto Wolff insinuates Mercedes were targeted by F1 rule change in 2021 because of their dominance

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff hinted that the 2021 rule change were introduced to stop the dominance of the German team.

The former world champions had dominated the sport since the start of the Turbo-Hybrid era in 2014 and won every constructors' title until 2021. However, they were unable to retain the drivers' title as Lewis Hamilton was beaten by Max Verstappen on the final lap of the season.

Ahead of the 2021 season, F1 had introduced some changes to the sport which had diminished the advantage of Mercedes substantially. Reflecting on the rule, as per Race Fans, the Mercedes team boss said:

“I think we probably lost the 2021 drivers’ championship for many reasons. One was the final race. But we also lost it because those regulations were set in place in order to reduce the advantage that we had. 2020 was a super-dominant year for us. I think it was the best car we’ve ever had. It was the best car we’ve ever had."

"And then towards the end of the season, they changed the regs by cutting the floor out. That was to stop us, and we could see the results in 2021, we were not as competitive as Red Bull was. But in Silverstone, we unlocked more of the potential of the car and got ourselves back into the championship."

Mercedes driver on how the 2021 rule change impacted them

Lewis Hamilton also claimed that the change introduced in qualifying brought the grid closer. As per Motorsportweek, the Mercedes driver stated that he wasn't aware that there would be any changes to close the field in the coming races. He said:

“I don’t know what’s been proposed. I’ve not heard anything. But we’ve experienced lots of changes, which were put in place to slow us down over the years and I think that it was better for the sport."

“If you look at 2021, for example, our qualifying pace was amazing… I think it’s 2021 or 2020, I can’t remember, but where they took away our qualifying mode, for example, brought us closer in qualifying. And on one side, the engineers just did an incredible job and they deserved that in merit, but I think from a racing fan we want to see all of us a lot closer.”

It would be difficult to determine whether any changes in the current regulations could bring teams on the grid closer to Red Bull. However, it would be harsh for the Austrian team if any changes are brought in.