Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Mercedes unable to bend rules as much as Ferrari

Toto Wolff says Mercedes' culture prevents it from taking risks with F1's regulations as much as Ferrari.

Ferrari emerged as Mercedes' main rivals in 2015, winning three races as it finished second in the constructors' championship having made big strides with both its car and power unit. With Ferrari having been part of Formula One since the first world championship in 1950, Wolff believes there are certain factors about the two teams' approaches which disadvantage Mercedes.

"Because we are Mercedes, we operate in a safe environment – but with a very competitive and dynamic philosophy," Wolff told Motorsport.com. "We are not Ferrari, and we haven't been in the sport forever. Therefore, sometimes the way that you tackle regulations, or how you interpret regulations, can give you an advantage.

"This is why we believe that this is definitely sometimes a factor that disadvantages us. But that is how it is. That is okay."

Ferrari came under scrutiny last year for the nature of its partnership with the new Haas F1 Team, with Mercedes writing to the FIA to ask for clarity regarding certain regulations. The stewards at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ruled Ferrari had acted within the rules but moved to close off any loopholes which other teams could exploit in the future.

Following the stewards decision, Ferrari said it felt Mercedes had acted in a "fair" manner.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.