After four seasons without a constructors’ title, Mercedes returns to the top in 2026. Toto Wolff, however, refuses to talk about lost years.
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For eight consecutive seasons, Mercedes imposed an almost undisputed dominance over Formula 1. From 2014 to 2021, the German team won all the constructors’ championships, establishing one of the longest winning streaks in the history of the sport.
The introduction of the ground effect-based regulations in 2022 abruptly ended this period. Mercedes finished third that year, second in 2023, fourth in 2024, then second again in 2025. Four seasons without a title that inevitably raised questions about Toto Wolff and his team’s ability to return to the top.
But as Mercedes dominates again in 2026, its director refuses to consider this period a major failure.
Wolff says he is “immune” to criticism
The new regulations introduced this season seem to have reshuffled the cards in favor of Mercedes. At the summer break, Kimi Antonelli leads Lewis Hamilton by 50 points in the drivers’ championship, while the Brackley team leads Ferrari by 72 points in the constructors’.
A return to the front that could be seen as revenge after four tougher campaigns. Wolff, however, assures he was not particularly affected by external criticism during this period.
“I always try to meet my own expectations”, he explains. “I am completely immune to outside opinions.”
The Austrian executive, however, gives more importance to remarks from his close circle.
“Obviously, if my wife or colleagues tell me I haven’t been good enough, that’s something I take seriously and try to improve.”
Despite the difficulties encountered since 2022, the internal goal has never changed.
“Every year, the ambition was to do the best possible job and to win. Fundamentally, that’s why we are here: to win championships.”
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Mercedes simply didn’t have the best car
For Wolff, the absence of a title between 2022 and 2025 is primarily explained by a relatively simple reality: Mercedes did not have a car competitive enough to beat the best teams.
Red Bull first imposed its dominance with this generation of cars before McLaren gradually took over. Under these conditions, Mercedes had to set goals corresponding to the real potential of its car.
“We understood that we couldn’t win these past years because the car was never good enough to beat the team in front. Sometimes it was Red Bull, sometimes McLaren.”
“The best realistic goal was to finish second or third, and that’s what we managed to do, except for one season during this period.”
The 2024 campaign, concluded in fourth place in the constructors’ championship, is indeed the only real exception.
“It’s not catastrophic”
Toto Wolff thus prefers to put these four years into a much broader perspective. Mercedes had won eight consecutive titles before consistently remaining among the best teams despite losing its benchmark status.
“If you look at this in 20 or 30 years, you will simply observe the statistics of these 15 years. You will see: first, first, first, first, first, first, first, first, third, second, fourth, second. So it’s not catastrophic.”
The 2022 regulation change had nevertheless placed Mercedes in a particularly difficult situation. The W13 suffered from many problems from the start, notably aerodynamic bouncing and an extremely narrow operating window.
The team had also bet on an aerodynamic concept that ultimately did not allow it to fully exploit the potential of the regulations, while Red Bull quickly found a much more effective technical direction.
Four years later, the new regulatory upheaval of 2026 seems to have reversed the trend. And while Mercedes still has to convert its current advantage into world titles, Wolff can already consider that the difficult years did not prevent his team from staying at the forefront before returning to victory.
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