Mercedes' hardship from 2022 has unfortunately extended into this year but despite the team's struggles, Nico Rosberg says that Toto Wolff remains the best team principal there is in F1.
Wolff has presided over Mercedes' destiny in Formula 1 since 2014, the first year of the hybrid engine era in the sport.
Under the Austrian's guidance, Mercedes won a record eight consecutive Constructors' titles.
But last season, Mercedes faltered, its engineering excellence caught out by Grand Prix racing's technical regulation overhaul and a design approach for its W13 silver arrow that proved ill-inspired on the aerodynamic front.
©Mercedes
And yet the team carried its design into 2023, its engineers and Wolff convinced that the car's aero flaws and weaknesses from last year had been largely ironed out.
After the opening round in Bahrain, Wolff acknowledged his team's error, conceding that its new-spec car was fundamentally flawed and would not allow the team to be competitive this season.
While the buck stops with its team principal, Wolff's position at the helm of the German outfit has never been called into question by Mercedes' top brass.
Furthermore, contrary to Red Bull's Christian Horner, the longest-standing team principal on the grid, Wolff has skin in the game as the Austrian owns one third of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, with Ineos and Daimler AG holding in equal parts the remaining two thirds of the team.
He therefore has vested interest in seeing Mercedes succeed in F1.
Although his team is currently facing heavy headwinds and an opponent – Red Bull – that appears seemingly out of reach, Wolff remains the best man to steer the outfit back onto its winning path according to Rosberg, who spent seven years at Mercedes, three of which were under Wolff's stewardship.
"It’s incredibly difficult, it’s an incredibly difficult situation for everyone," said the 2016 F1 world champion.
"Because they’re so used to success and they’ve written the greatest success story ever written in sport, with eight World Championship titles in a row.
"And yes, Toto is ultimately the one who is responsible and still is. For me, he is the best team manager and team boss here in Formula 1."
Rosberg says that all golden periods eventually come to an end, leaving a team with a new challenge on its hands.
"The competence is simple, I’ve experienced that myself and this success in recent years is proof of that," added Rosberg referring to Wolff's management skills.
"But every success comes to an end at some point, that’s always been the case and now it’s just an incredibly difficult challenge to make this turnaround again."
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