Mercedes: Defeat in 2022 less painful than last year's defeat in Abu Dhabi

Toto Wolff says that this year's crash from the team's season is less painful for Mercedes than the loss of the drivers' title at last year's race in Abu Dhabi.

This year, the German team did not win either the drivers' or the constructors' title for the first time since 2013, but Wolff says that all the disappointments of the 2022 season are easier to bear than the defeat a year ago, when they won a record eighth constructors' title. "We were strong last year, so that defeat is all the more painful. Especially considering how the season ended and how we lost the title by a few seconds. The outcome was not in our hands. It was something that was completely against my values.”

Wolff admitted that they made a mistake at Mercedes this year and that's why they accept defeat so much easier. "This year the season was not so turbulent in terms of emotions, because we knew from the very beginning that the car was not good enough. We slowly understood him. As we solved one problem, we discovered a new one, and so on. We have ourselves to blame for this year's defeat, but not for last year's. We know we broke it this year. We are aware that others have done a better job."