F1 News: Toto Wolff Hints At Mercedes Development Path As He Eyes Up Red Bull

Red Bull are the ones to beat, and therefore, every constructor is eyeing up their design.

Toto Wolff has hinted at the development path that Mercedes may well follow after their recent major upgrade didn't release the performance they expected from the W14. This comes after a number of months of struggling, with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell expressing mild pessimism over the car's current development. 

Red Bull on the other hand, has seen great performance from their Adrian Newey-designed RB19, with Max Verstappen safely leading the Driver Standings and likely to take home his third championship of his career this year. In fact, he's so far ahead, he only needs to finish P2 in the remaining races to remain in top spot.

Assessing the current regulations and comparing the fastest cars on the grid currently, the Mercedes chief has admitted that it's likely that other teams will start looking very similar to the fastest car - currently that of the Red Bull.  

“The sidepods and the bodywork are just one part of the chassis and clearly, it looks like there are interesting solutions that it opens up,” he admitted to the media after the British Grand Prix.

“But most of the performance comes through the floor and the diffuser. And we haven’t seen how they [Red Bull] interpreted the regulations, and how they’ve done it. So in my opinion, it’s just the package.”

Continuing, he commented on where development may lead over the next couple of years.  

“Maybe we’ll see that the strong cars all look a little bit the same when you look from the side and from the top down,” he said, mirroring Newey's thoughts from years ago. 

“That has played in our minds already back in the day but, maybe, that’s just a little more indication where it goes.”

Regulation changes in 2022 shook up the grid as the cars relied on ground effect downforce. The Milton Keynes outfit quickly gained a lead that only extended into this year. Now, teams are fighting to catch up to the Bulls, with McLaren, Aston Martin, and even Ferrari taking inspiration from their exterior design.

But as Wolff said, the magic comes from the floor where the venturi tunnels can be found. This is difficult to replicate, and because of this, we'll likely see Red Bull continue their lead into next year.