Toto Wolff explains sudden Mercedes surge with key ‘moment’ highlighted for breakthrough

Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen at the British GP

Toto Wolff says it wasn’t a “miracle front wing” that resurrected Mercedes’ form but rather “a moment” led by technical director James Allison where suddenly the data made sense.

After two years of toil with F1’s ground-effect aerodynamic cars, Mercedes have hit a purple patch with two wins on the bounce in Austria and Silverstone.

Toto Wolff pinpoints key ‘moment’ in Mercedes’ recovery

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper

But the recovery notably began back at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Putting a new flexi front wing on the W15, the design was heralded as a “eureka” moment for the former World Champions – who in the four races after Monte Carlo recorded a run of podium results including back-to-back wins in Austria and Silverstone.

Wolff, though, insists the much-talked-about “magic front wing” is not the secret behind Mercedes’ return to form. Rather, he credits that to “a moment” from technical director Allison where suddenly everything clicked.

“There was a moment where, led by James, suddenly the data made sense, and the gap,” he told the media at Silverstone, including PlanetF1.com.

“Mainly the way we balance the car and how we could bring it in a better sweet spot. That was the main thing. It wasn’t a miracle front wing, it is more the balance that we achieved.”

Allison returned to his former role as Mercedes’ technical director in August 2023 as part of a leadership reshuffle, replacing Mike Elliott who has since left the team.

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Scoring 142 points in the five races since George Russell ran the new wing in Monaco, Mercedes have outscored every team on the grid including Red Bull.

They, however, remain fourth in the Constructors’ Championship where they are 74 points down on third-placed McLaren.

“It clicked,” Wolff added. “Suddenly everything that didn’t make sense, made sense.

“The development direction, or the results of the development direction, are like back in the old days, we are finding performance, we are putting it on the car, and it translates into lap time.

“That wasn’t the case for the last two years. There’s more to come in terms of performance we’re bringing, we’re bringing bits to Budapest and Spa.

“But on the other side, we mustn’t get carried away. We had a win last week benefiting from the entangling but, today, we have an honest win. We had the real pace.”

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