Toto Wolff is confident Red Bull will not be able to repeat what his Mercedes team achieved in winning eight Formula 1 titles in a row.
Mercedes adapted fastest at the start of the sport's Hybrid Era, when new engine regulations came into force in 2014. Their power units were far more powerful than any other on the grid, helping them to launch what would be one of the longest-running dominant stretches in F1 history.
It was only this year that their streak was ended. A new set of technical regulations, this time mainly affecting the aerodynamics of the cars, led to the Silver Arrows adapting more slowly – Ferrari and Red Bull hit the ground running, thought it was the latter who won both championships in 2022 by a country mile.
Considering how comfortable their and Max Verstappen's successes were, there have been plenty of suggestions that Red Bull might be well-placed to launch a winning streak of their own. But considering their wind tunnel restrictions from their cost cap punishment, Wolff thinks it will be tough for his team's rivals.
"It's a relative competition," said the Austrian. "We know who are our competitors are today, there will be others tomorrow and after tomorrow because of the cost cap limits that have been set and this is what the sport should be.
"Not one team, not three but maybe five [in contention for the title]. The landscape has changed – I don't think anybody will run away with eight championships in a row going forward and this is the way the regulations have been designed."
Wolff would be forgiven for having a pessimistic view of what lies ahead for Mercedes in 2023, given their struggles for most of this year. But one positive of finishing behind Red Bull and Ferrari is that they will have more wind tunnel time than both those teams, which he knows could be key to helping them close the gap.
"I think it's harder because you can't really invest more in order for the outcome to come quicker," he said, referring to the sport's current budget and technical rules. "But I think how the aerodynamic regulations are designed, and the penalty that [Red Bull] have got, it's 25 percent less wind tunnel [time] and that can have an effect.
"The way that the regulations, the wind tunnel or ATR restrictions, have been set in place allows teams that are further back to really make a big jump compared to the front runners. That's also the reason why we will see much closer championships in the future because if you are last you will have 50 percent more, 40 percent more. So, clearly that is an advantage we have to utilise. Is it a given that we can utilise it? Who knows?"
