Wolff claims the team were motivated to keep pushing forwards after three back to back constructors’ and drivers’ Formula One titles by the rule changes that forced all teams to redesign the cars from scratch.
“Reinventing yourself and having the right energy can be tricky [if the rules stay the same],” said Wolff. “But because the regulations have changed we are so energised and so motivated that we are actually keen to finally get out there and race the car. It was the best thing that could have happened to us.”
After three years of dominance, Mercedes are favourites to take the title again this season, even with the rule changes, but Wolff insisted the team isn’t taking anything for granted.
“There’s always the risk that you get used to that kind of success and the risk of setting the expectations too high,” he said. “In that case, we are setting no expectations because the regulations are new. It starts at zero for everybody and that gives us an opportunity to be successful again, maybe in a completely different way. Maybe we are not going to win 50 races in three years. Maybe we are going to win a couple of races, hopefully a championship, maybe not. Maybe somebody else has done a better job. But it’s just all back to square one.”
Red Bull and Ferrari are the obvious competitors for Mercedes. Neither team has unveiled their 2017 challengers yet, and didn’t really come close to the reigning champions last season, but either could unlock the winning formula for the new set of regulations. However, Wolff isn’t ruling out a smaller team jumping up the order.
“With such a regulation change you need to consider everyone as a potential competitor,” he said. “We have seen in 2009: nobody would have expected Brawn to have been competitive and to win the championship and it happened, so we are taking everybody seriously. It is the year of opportunity.”
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