Wolff rejects Mercedes 'complete losers' label after lean years

Toto Wolff has said Mercedes were not "complete losers" during their lean period in the ground-effect era, when the team struggled to understand the regulations and never truly challenged Red Bull and later McLaren. Mercedes won seven races across the 2022 to 2025 campaigns, finishing third, second, fourth and second in the championship over those four years.

With the new ruleset this season, Kimi Antonelli secured his maiden drivers' championship and Mercedes clinched a ninth constructors' title. Wolff said the period was difficult for the Brackley-based squad, adding that it was hard to keep going while in the middle of it.

Wolff said he was proud of the resilience of the team and that few sports teams have recovered to win again after a run of championships followed by a difficult spell.