1
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff believes that Mercedes are underdogs for the 2017 Formula 1 championship, and have been since the start of the season. After six rounds of the championship completed, Mercedes and Ferrari have won three races each, with the latest in Monaco going the way of Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel.
Since the introduction of the V6 Hybrid engines in 2014, Mercedes has dominated the sport, winning 51 races out of the 59 from 2014 to 2016. This season, however, with a new regulation change focusing on aerodynamics, Ferrari has caught up and are challenging the Silver Arrows for the trophy.
Wolff says that he is enjoying the prospect of being the underdog: "I like the notion of the underdog because people obviously want to see the underdog win. As a matter of fact, I think we have been since the beginning of the season. We have been dropping in and out of the tyre window. We never had two drivers or two cars within that window.
"We have seen an exceptional performance of Valtteri in Sochi which we were not able to replicate on Lewis' car, we have seen an exceptional performance of Lewis in Barcelona and that inconsistency has been following through the season. And on the opposite side, Ferrari put the car on the track in Barcelona and were quick from the get go, so yes, we are the underdog, yes we need to catch up. This is the reality of it at the moment."
In the constructor standings, Ferrari has taken the lead and are ahead by 17 points. Meanwhile, in the driver standings, Vettel leads the way as he has done since round 1 in Australia, now with his biggest advantage so far - 25 points.
Fergal Walsh
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
M. Verstappen
C. Sainz jr
C. Leclerc
Bahrain
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
Australia
Albert Park
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
Monaco
Monte Carlo
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Austria
Red Bull Ring
United Kingdom
Silverstone
Hungary
Hungaroring
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Italy
Monza
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Brazil
Interlagos
United States of America
Las Vegas Street Circuit
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
280,442 comments on Aston Martin
59 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Sebastian Vettel
600,587 comments on Mercedes 56 members have this team as their favourite Tweets about Mercedes
Replies (1)
Login to replyENDR
Posts: 43
"I like the notion of the underdog because people obviously want to see the underdog win."
Following this logic - you are NOT the underdog, because people DON'T want you to win anymore ;D