Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes McLaren is the “new benchmark” to follow in Formula 1 after their Hungarian GP double.
Although Red Bull continues to lead either world championship, the dominant F1 team over the past two seasons has gone 3 races without a win for the first time since December 2021, and McLaren nonetheless capitalised on its recent consistent promise by completing one. two in each championship, qualifying and the race at the Hungaroring to get his second victory of the year.
Significantly, McLaren has taken 64 problems off Red Bull in the last seven races and now has just 51, raising the prospect of the Woking team seriously challenging the name of its first constructor since 1998 in the final 11 finals of the 2024 season. .
Lando Norris leads Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship by a slim margin of 76 points.
And Wolff, whose Mercedes team has returned to the winning tactic in recent months but remains the most level-headed, said: “What we have to recognise is that McLaren is now obviously at the head of the pack and, whatever the conditions, it’s one and two.
“This is the new benchmark.
“It’s wonderful that we have another team that has taken the leap to score first and second.
“It’s for all of us. . . I’m happy for them.
After McLaren’s pit wall had to deal with a tense finish between its drivers in the final stages of the race as they tried to achieve strategic fairness, Wolff, an eight-time constructors’ title winner, joked: “I’ve noticed the film they find themselves!”
Wolff’s warm words about McLaren were echoed through his driver Lewis Hamilton, who began his career at Woking and joined Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris on the Hungarian GP podium in third place on Sunday.
“You know, I signed through McLaren when I was thirteen years old and that’s why there’s been a lot of love for this team and for all the adventure we’ve had, where I won my first world championship,” Hamilton said.
“And then they went through a tough time, so to see them back there is great. I’m happy. “
“You know it’s my old family, so I’m grateful to be here with them. “
2016 world champion and Sky Sports F1 expert Nico Rosberg talks about McLaren, the fastest car on the grid, and what it means for Red Bull and the rest of this season:
“I mean, who would have any idea about that?
“The paintings that McLaren has done are unreal. I hope for their sake that they fully perceive where this pace is coming from, although I guess there’s a part of it that they’re not too sure about because it’s too good. “
“That’s why Red Bull in the constructors’ championship is getting nervous because at the moment it turns out that it is going in the direction of McLaren because they [Red Bull] only have one driver who can score outstanding points. “
“That’s the first basic thing and it will only make things more difficult, the resolution with Perez. They almost have to take a chance now and see if some other driving force would do a little bit more because it’s worth taking a risk. “Otherwise, they will almost certainly lose the constructors’ championship to McLaren.
“Then in the Drivers’ Championship, at the moment it is still a bit comfortable, but it can also get very nervous soon. “
Like McLaren, Mercedes has also dominated Red Bull since the Miami GP in May, winning back-to-back weekends in Austria and Silverstone earlier this month, despite the Brackley-based team starting from a lower base after an early start in 2024. specifically complicated with its new W15 car logo. Formation
Mercedes remains fourth in the constructors’ championship, but Wolff believes overcoming its current 81-point deficit to Ferrari over the remainder of the season to finish third is now a realistic target.
“It is difficult to set objectives because it varies a lot from one update to another,” said the team director.
“But I think if you had to say today what goes from realism to optimism, I’d probably be third in the league.
“It’s difficult to catch Red Bull and McLaren is now the benchmark, so I think it would be a smart target. But it’s not easy. “
After falling between the top two groups in the heat of Budapest, Mercedes will now aim for a more powerful Belgian GP next week at Spa-Francorchamps before F1 enters its summer break.
“It’s on the minds of humans to set their expectations based on what they’ve just achieved, but it’s clear that Budapest, warmth and open asphalt won’t be smart at all for us and will probably play more in the game. “hands of other teams,” Wolff added.
“So to get a very close podium (unfortunately with George [Russell], we lost the race to him [in qualifying]) is smart and I’m looking to get to Spa and hopefully we’ll see if we can. “maintain that performance point. “
Thursday July 10:30 p. m. : Drivers’ press conference
Friday July 268:50: F310h Practice: F212h Practice: Belgium GP Practice 1 (start of consultation at 12:30)14:00: Qualifying F314:55: Qualifying F215:45: Belgium GP Practice 2 (start of consultation at 16:00) 17:15: F1 Show
Saturday July 11:4 17:1: F3 Sprint 11:1 5 am: Belgium GP Practice 3 (session starts at 11:30 am) 1:10 pm: F2 Sprint 2:1 pm 5 pm: Preparation for Belgium GP qualifying 3:00 pm: Belgium GP qualifying 5:00 pm: Ted qualifying report
Sunday, July 28h7h25: Featured race F38h55: Featured race F210h40: Porsche Super Cup12h30: Grand Prix Sunday: Preparation for the Belgian GP*2h: The BELGIUM GRAND PRIX*4h: Checkered flag: from the GP5h: Ted’s notebook
*also in the Sky Sports Main Event
The action continues this weekend with the final race before F1’s summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix. You can watch each and every Spa-Francorchamps consultation live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – No contract, cancel anytime