Breaking news

Formula 1

McLaren's 2007 meltdown plays on Mercedes mind

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the McLaren meltdown at the end of 2007 means his team cannot afford to relax and think the Formula 1 championship battle is over.

Jonathan Noble

Edited: Oct 15, 2018, 8:59 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

The car of Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes MP4/22 after he retired from the race

A run of four consecutive victories for Lewis Hamilton has left him 67 points clear of Sebastian Vettel in the drivers' standings, with only four races remaining.

If he wins in Austin this weekend, with Vettel no higher than third, then that will be enough for Hamilton to claim his fifth world title.

But despite the strong position the team is in, Wolff fears that there is always the prospect for something unexpected to happen – and he cites 2007 as a classic example.

Back then, under the old points structure, Hamilton held a 17-point advantage over Kimi Raikkonen with just two races of the season to go, meaning he just needed one third place to claim the title.

But a crash on the way into the pits in China, and a gearbox problem in the final round in Brazil, left the door open for Raikkonen to take the crown.

Speaking about the impact of the sizeable advantage Mercedes has heading in to this weekend's race in Austin, Wolff said: "It doesn't change anything. In 2007, two races to go, 45 points in today's points, and [Lewis] lost the championship.

"Would anybody ever have thought that you could lost 45 points in two races? Impossible.

"Racing happens on Sunday, and not necessarily the quickest car wins. We had a moment in the summer where we weren't the quickest car, and we scored some victories.

"I wouldn't want to take the foot off the pedal because a DNF and a freak race, and it's all vanished. It doesn't change."

While Mercedes has worked hard since its defeat in the Belgian Grand Prix to ensure it has maximised its opportunities, it acknowledges there is little it can do to avoid freak circumstances coming in to play.

Wolff added: "The freak incidents happen everywhere and a DNF and a consequent bad result suddenly wipes out a large chunk of your points.

"I know from a probability standpoint it doesn't look like it could happen, but this is motor racing, it's a sport, anything can happen. I don't want to even think about him breaking a finger. I mean, anything can happen in motor racing.

"I don't want to dwell too much about it because this is bad karma, too, so let's just get it done. Let's go to Austin, let's have a strong race weekend and then hopefully seal the championship."

Toto Wolff, Mercedes AMG F1 Director of Motorsport, celebrates pole for Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1

Photo by: Steve Etherington / LAT Images

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Generation game: George Russell the latest symbol of a shift in Formula 1

Next article Renault warns F1 could lose a manufacturer over costs

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 2 h

Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure

Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

5 h

Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

Formula 1

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller

MotoGP

Qatar GP

You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller

Feature

Discover prime content

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

Formula 1

By Maurice Hamilton

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

How seizing every chance – and making it happen – keeps Pierre Gasly’s fire burning

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

How seizing every chance – and making it happen – keeps Pierre Gasly’s fire burning

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Ronald Vording

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts