Why did Mercedes Study Manchester united?

Apart from Formula 1, If you’re a Manchester united fan, you might wanna not to watch this video, although, there is a bit of good news in the end for you. But if you hate Manchester united with every bone in your body. You’ll definitely enjoy this.

So what is it? 

Well, since 2014, Mercedes have won 15 out of the 16 titles that were available in Formula 1. 8 Constructors championships, and 7 Drivers championships. Max Verstappen pushed hard last year to break that streak. 

But this year, with a whole new set of regulations, the team finds themselves on a backfoot. They’ve been struggling to get their car set up right and they’re currently 3rd in the championship. 

Now in Formula 1, being 3rd behind Ferrari and Redbull isn’t bad at all. There are still 7 teams behind you. But that’s not why Mercedes take part in Formula 1. They take part to win.  

What did Toto Wolff do?

So Toto Wolff, who is a team principal and also a co-owner of the Mercedes F1 team, sat down and decided to see why great teams could never sustain a run of dominance. 

And that led him to study the struggles and the downfall of Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.

Referring to the 13-time Premier League champions, Wolff told the Financial Times: “I studied why great teams were not able to repeat great title [runs],”

“No sports team in any sport has ever won eight consecutive World Championship titles and there are many reasons for that, and what is at the core is the human.

“The human gets complacent. You are not energised in the same way you were before. You are maybe not as ambitious.

 

Toto Wolff isn’t just an ordinary team boss. He understands that Psychology plays a vital role in the performance of his team. He’s extremely vocal about mental health and he even has his own company Instahelp. Which helps people find the right psychologist to help them out with their mental health problems. Earlier this year he also opened up about his struggles and said that he’s been through 500+ hours of therapy. 

 

And that shows in his management skills. Speaking about the slump in form that Mercedes are going through, he said “We are still the same group of people with the same ambition, energy, tools and funding. Maybe we need to tweak here and there because psychology plays an important role, but I believe this team has all it needs to be successful but with no sense of entitlement. I want this to be a blip and not a longer-term phase of not being able to compete at the front.”

So where’s the good news for the Manchester United fans? 

WELL, one of the team sponsors sir Jim Ratcliffe, who owns Ineos, is said to be interested in buying the team from the glazers. But I mean we’ve all seen that the glazers aren’t willing to sell and that could be messy. He previously tried to buy Chelsea, but he didn’t manage that. He is currently the French club OGG Nice. 

 

So in Conclusion, in a Formula 1 season where a team like Ferrari has constantly let their drivers down and struggled to fight for the championship with a tremendous car. It’s moments like these when you start to appreciate what Mercedes Did, and what Toto Wolff guided Mercedes to achieve.