Wolff rules out Mercedes catching Red Bull in 2023

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff says it isn't realistic for his side to catch the pace-setting Red Bulls in 2023.

Red Bull have finished 1-2 in dominant fashion across both races so far this year, prompting rival teams to suggest that the drinks-backed squad could win every race in 2023.

With Mercedes having admitted that their W14 concept will never be truly competitive, and having committed to a major revamp of their 2023 car, Wolff acknowledged that there was no realistic hope of the Silver Arrows beating Red Bull this year.

"We're just two races in this year, but is it realistic when we look at the gaps? No, it's not.

"But we just want to give it all we have and then see what the outcome of that is."

Wolff highlights improvement shown with W13

Wolff added that Mercedes were taking comfort from the mid-season improvement they had shown with last year's W13.

That car began 2022 suffering with severe bouncing and porpoising issues, but got steadily more competitive as the year wore on, and ended it with George Russell winning the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"We've been able to catch up a lot last year with a car that was bouncing way too much, and that in a way was overshadowing everything.

"Finally, we won a race and got closer to [Red Bull], and I think that needs to be the aspiration."