38 F1 RACING JANUARY 2020
changed significantlytwice – in 2017, with the
introduction of wider,faster cars; andagain in
2019 with the new front wingaimed at making
overtaking easier.And yetMercedes and
Hamiltonhave just kept on winning.
Brawn says:“Once you get the organisation
and you’re preparedto take the time to put all
the things inplace and make it work,when it
starts to work,it’s a juggernaut.
“You get your car done and youhave such
comprehensive resource that youhave the end
car comingalong while yourfi rst car is out
there performing.
“And once you get on top ofit, and you’re
out there winning races, and you’renot fi ghting
tooth and nailfor a championship, you’re
workingon the next car and giving yourselfaneven betteropportunity for the nextseason.
And it becomes self-perpetuating.”
For Wolff, thekey has been that the team has
always remained hungry, chiefly by s etting new
objectives– to win morethan o ne titl e; then
to win through aregulation change; thento
break Ferrari’s record. And now, for 2020,one
assumes, to help Hamilton equalSchumacher’s
record of seven titles.
“It is very important to set theright
objectives,”Wolff says, “becauseif you do thatit
keeps you motivated andenergi sed. And every
year thisteam hasset si ghts ona new season
knowing thatthe points arereset to zero, that
the pastdoesn’t count and that the presentand
the future aremost important. And somehow
this mindset of sc epticism has prevailedandwe’re not taking anything for granted.”
There’s something else, too – winning feels
better than losing.
“The days we failare the days we learn
the most,” Wolff says. “Because you arenever
leaving a track with agreat victory and saying,
why the hell did we win? But you leave the track
saying, whythe hell did we lose?Indeed
the diligenceof th e analysis to leaveno
sto ne unturned ismuch deeper and intense
when you’ve lost.
“The pain of losing lasts many days, probably
up untilthe next race. The enjoyment of
winning disappearson th e Monday morning
after the grand prix. And this has kept us going.”Andrew Benson is BBC Sport’s chief F1 writerMercedes won 72.54% of the
pointsavailableto the team in 2018Mercedes won 73.55% of the
pointsavailableto the team in 2019Six and the best. Theteam celebrates its six
titles with the ultimate group photograph