Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the odds of his team winning the title this year should be set at 8/2 after its worst start to the season in nine years.
According to bookmakers, the actual odds of Mercedes winning the constructors’ title this year are as high as 12/1, while seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is 16/1 to win the drivers’ championship.
The grim forecast is based on the opening two races of the season in which Hamilton and teammate George Russell have struggled to come anywhere near matching the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull.
Mercedes, which has won the last eight F1 constructors’ titles, is currently second in the championship, but only because both Red Bull cars failed to finish the race at the opening round in Bahrain.
“I think we are on the back foot,” Wolff admitted after qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday. “If I look at it from a mathematical standpoint and probability I would say the odds are eight to two, but this is motor racing and in…
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