Toto Wolff has poured cold water over early predictions that the racing will be closer this season with the new generation of Formula 1 cars, stating that they will only find out if the on-track product is any better when the teams actually get the chance to race each other.

The new generation of cars which are strikingly different to their predecessors, are expected to be just as fast over one flying lap. Yet, crucially, they are predicted to be easier to race with, something which the 2017-2021 era of Grand Prix cars struggled to do at times, particularly when it came to overtaking or slipstreaming in dirty air.

But when speaking to selected media outlets, which included MotorLat, Wolff didn't make a prediction on whether he thought the new generation of cars would improve racing. He also stated that both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell would go into the season with equal opportunities as the new all British lineup made their first public appearance together at yesterday's car launch.

"We never had a situation of (a number) one and (a number) two (driver) they have equal opportunities and the same car. This year the interesting situation is that we have with George an up and coming star and undoubtedly the best Formula One driver ever in the other seat, so that dynamic is new and clearly will be something that we will try to steer in a direction that has the most positive effect on developing the car." 

"And as in terms of my optimism of making racing better. The truth is, I have no idea the concept of the car aerodynamically is fundamentally different to what we have known. And only when we race each other, we will see whether that has become easier or not. I think whoever predicts at that stage that overtaking is going to be easier is bold."

The sport's budget cap, which was introduced to not only make the championship more competitive but to also ensure that teams didn't endure financial difficulties through overspending, has been reduced from $145 million (€128 million) in 2021 to $140 million (€123.6 million), forcing the teams to spend their money more wisely.

However, the reduced cap has caused its fair share of problems for Formula One's big players who will now have to massively downsize their teams in order to meet the cap's requirements, with Ferrari's Laurent Mekies admitting to British publication Autosport that the cap will limit the number of upgrades that the teams will bring to every race.

Wolff virtually echoed Mekies comments saying that the team will now have to choose more carefully when it comes to investing in R&D. The Austrian also revealed that the cap had caused Mercedes to undergo a restructuring over the winter.

"It has been very, very difficult to structure the company and the organisation in the right way to meet the cost cap at $140 million. Also, in a high inflation environment, we are not only reducing by 5 million, but we have a situation where you're not able to really increase the costs and the payroll. So that was extremely painful. And on the other side. You have to decide very carefully where you invest your dollar in R&D. In the past it was a little bit easier because you could follow various avenues in chasing performance; today you have to decide which one has the highest potential and then embark on it. So it's a totally different way of operating for the big teams."