Following a thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix that resulted in a podium finish for Williams, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff offered a candid and characteristically cheeky take on the rise of the Silver Arrows’ customer teams. While Mercedes secured a podium in second place with George Russell, Wolff wasn’t blind to the fact that Williams securing third place with Carlos Sainz marked another moment in 2025 when a Mercedes-powered customer team stole the spotlight from the squad.
Vowles’ trajectory with Williams
During a media interview after the Azerbaijan GP, the Mercedes team principal discussed Williams’s trajectory under team principal James Vowles, who was his former colleague at Mercedes, and whether the rise of the Grove team and McLaren’s continued dominance, albeit rocky in Baku, have shifted his thinking heading into the pivotal 2026 regulation changes.
“Yeah, obviously, you know, the ‘lucky bastard’ is more jovial. Tongue-in-cheek. Because, you know, as team principals, we get lots of the criticism, but also the glory. And others are doing a great job.” Wolff shared about Vowles.
He also continued to praise his leadership and strategic decision-making that built the foundation for Williams’ gradual rise to become a competing team.
“I’m 100% convinced that James is a great contributor to the team’s success and to the long-term thinking. The driver delivered. The pit stops were good. Overall, it’s a trajectory that I enjoy seeing with him and for the team.”
Thoughts on customer teams outperforming them
While Mercedes was on the podium with Williams, Wolff didn’t look past the fact that seeing their customer teams precede them with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 M16 E Performance power unit came with mixed emotions from seeing customer teams outperform the factory effort.
“I’m in two minds,” Wolff confessed. “First of all, we represent Mercedes-Benz, and I’d rather have a customer team with Mercedes-Benz engines winning than any other manufacturer. But on the other side, I’m thinking, hopefully they’re not harming our campaign too much.”
To keep things from getting too grim, Wolff added some humor to his dilemma:
“I’m happy for them and happy for the brand. On the other side, I’d like to take the engines away next year. Maybe they fail a few times.”
His tongue-in-cheek remark prompted laughter, but the underlying tension is clear: Mercedes’ own performance this season has been underwhelming by their high standards, and the ascension of McLaren and now Williams adds new pressure ahead of the sweeping 2026 regulation changes, where power unit parity and aerodynamic reset could reshuffle the grid even further.
Looking at 2026
The idea of customer teams becoming genuine title contenders is no longer hypothetical. Wolff acknowledged the challenge but kept his eye on the broader goal:
“You never know, Alpine could be up there, too. The thing is, the sport is in a great place when multiple teams can fight at the front. But of course, for us, it’s about making sure we’re the team setting the pace, not watching from behind.”
While Mercedes is contending with other teams, they’re also competing with a part of themselves in the form of midfield and front-runners that have consistently been outperforming them and making strides toward concluding their season at par or alongside the British team.
