Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has cautioned against prematurely “writing off” Red Bull, despite the team's “weird” dip in performance in recent F1 races.
Red Bull's struggles were on full display at the Italian Grand Prix, where reigning world champion Max Verstappen could only manage a sixth-place finish, trailing behind both Ferraris, McLarens, and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
The underperformance marked a significant departure from the dominance Red Bull exhibited earlier in the season.
The team's woes have tightened the Constructors' Championship race, with McLaren now just eight points behind its leading rival, following a double podium finish at Monza.
But while acknowledging that McLaren has emerged as the new favourite to clinch the Formula 1 Constructors' Championship, Wolff insists that Red Bull's pedigree makes the Milton Keynes-based outfit a formidable force that cannot be underestimated.
“It is really weird. I have no insight obviously but that is not at all the Red Bull at the start of the year – dominant,” Wolff told the media in Monza last weekend.
“I think that Max was able to keep it going for a while with his ability, but it seems now that [the pace has gone] from the sheer results - and that is what I see without understanding or knowing what is going on inside - because it could be a blip, also.
“This was probably one of their worst races that we have seen for many years, to have no pace.”
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Despite this, Wolff was quick to refrain from making any definitive conclusions about the team's future prospects.
“But who am I to say? We had two years without anything working for us. It was the same for Ferrari a few races ago,” he added.
The Mercedes chief emphasized that Red Bull's recent struggles do not negate the team's potential to rebound.
“So I don’t think you can write them off, they are a formidable team and I’m sure there will be better races, but McLaren is clearly the favourite now for the Constructors championship, they have two drivers scoring and I bet Red Bull didn’t expect that at the beginning of the year."
Wolff pointed out that the shifting dynamics between the top teams have made predicting race outcomes increasingly difficult. However, this uncertainty has also brought a new level of excitement to the sport, according to the Austrian.
“Different tracks, weather conditions, tyre wear, and updates mean that the gap between the frontrunners is small enough that predicting who will finish on the podium is not an easy task,” he observed.
“It is great for Formula 1, it is real rock and roll!
“Look at Ferrari, they had some really off weekends and then came alive in Zandvoort in the race, and with a clever strategy they won in Monza.
“These oscillations that we see between these top four teams are great news for the fans and great news for the sport. There are seven or eight cars that are able to race for a podium and that is great.”
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