Toto Wolff warned Mercedes of a potential Ferrari threat in 2022, saying that they have to be cautious of them.
Ferrari had a great 2021, beating McLaren to P3 in the Constructors’ Championship. It was a great season for the Prancing Horse, who were P6 in the 2020 season.
The regulation changes will level the playing field more, and given Ferrari’s resurgence in 2021, they could be a frontrunner in the upcoming season. They have made no secret of their desire to become champions and win races, and that is something the Mercedes team principal is wary of.
Wolff warned Mercedes of a potential Ferrari threat in 2022, saying that they have to be cautious of them.
“We absolutely have to (assume) they will be in the mix next year, because they’ve had more aerodynamic development scope because they had a bad season last year,” Wolff told RacingNews365.com.
“They are a great entity, they have all the resources that are needed and, therefore, we absolutely have them on the radar. Not only Ferrari, there’s a few other teams which can do really well next year.”
Galloping to the top
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto explained their 2021 approach and their commitment towards the next season.
“Certainly we had a big budget, maybe not the biggest but, with the financial regulation and the budget cap, we had to cut some of the developments and to cut part of our organisation, he said.
“So, when you’ve got a cap, you need to limit yourself. We identified the 2022 (car) as our top priority. So no compromises have been done in developing the 2022 car.
“The reason of putting 2022 as a top priority is quite obvious. It’s a new era in terms of regulations and, more than that, I think that knowing that we are behind today in terms of team capacity compared to the best competitors is important for us to really try to focus on the future and try to do our best for whatever will be our medium to long term future and that’s why 2022 (was prioritised).”