Red Bull, McLaren boost as Toto Wolff makes notable Mercedes W15 concession

Red Bull and McLaren have received a potential boost ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix with Toto Wolff conceding the Mercedes W15 is not yet capable of winning every race.

Having gone almost two years without a race victory, Mercedes have returned to the winners’ circle over recent weeks with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton triumphing in Austria and Britain respectively.

Toto Wolff: Mercedes W15 can’t challenge Red Bull, McLaren at every race

It is the first time Mercedes have won consecutive races since the closing weeks of the 2021 season, when Hamilton won three in a row in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to set up a last-race showdown with Max Verstappen.

Despite largely struggling under the ground-effect regulations introduced in 2022, Mercedes have started from pole position at the last two Hungarian GPs, with Russell and Hamilton on pole in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Although Wolff believes Mercedes now have “momentum” ahead of the Hungary/Belgium double-header, the long-serving team boss is convinced that the W15 is not yet fast enough to compete for victory at every circuit.

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Yet he has also said that the team will continue to bring upgrades all the way until the summer break as Mercedes aim to close the gap to Red Bull and McLaren.

He said: “We head into the upcoming double header with momentum.

“We have continued to make progress with the W15 in recent races. That has led to headline results in Austria and Silverstone.

“However, we know we don’t yet have a car that can challenge for victories every weekend.

“The team is working hard to bring more steps of performance that we hope will enable us to do that. Those efforts will continue over the next two races and right up until shutdown.”

Wolff’s comments come after he claimed that Verstappen, the reigning three-time World Champion, should not consider joining Mercedes until the team can prove themselves to be a compelling alternative to current employers Red Bull, with the Silver Arrows still lacking on track.

Mercedes are currently searching for Hamilton’s successor after the seven-time World Champion announced that he will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract from F1 2025, with Wolff previously claiming he would “love” to sign Verstappen as his replacement.

He told media including PlanetF1.com: “We need two to crash at the front to win at the moment.

“I think we still need to look at ourselves and say: ‘What can we do in order to have a car that is able to race with these two at the front and do it more regularly?’

“And I think this is a moment where we can say that we can be or harbor port or destination for the best drivers, including Max.

“But we’re not there yet, so if I was him I wouldn’t be considering such a move. Yet.”

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