Toto Wolff – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Wolff expects Mercedes will soon compete for wins on pace

Toto Wolff believes his Mercedes team will soon be fighting for wins on pure performance given the momentum it has been showing in recent races. George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix after benefiting from a collision between Max Verstappen and …

Toto Wolff believes his Mercedes team will soon be fighting for wins on pure performance given the momentum it has been showing in recent races.

George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix after benefiting from a collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the final 10 laps of the race at the Red Bull Ring, having previously been running third. Canada saw Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton both in the frame for victory in the late stages, while Hamilton was third in Spain, and Wolff says the recent results show Mercedes is closing in on McLaren and Red Bull.

“On pace, we were the third-quickest car. We’ve been this way the last three weekends and that is very encouraging, to see that upward trend and the consolidation of the trend,” the Mercedes team principal said. “But racing happens on Sunday. Sometimes we’ve been on the receiving end and [in Austria] we’ve benefited from the incident at the front.

“It’s just good to have that win in the pocket this year. It means there’s four teams that won races this year, and it’s been just 2023 where we haven’t won a race since 2011. That is good to know and certainly big momentum now in the team to go to a point where we are able on real performance to fight for the win. And I think we will be.”

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While stopping short of saying Mercedes could bring more performance to its car in time for this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Wolff says the pace deficit to the top two teams is now so small that a step forward in the range of 0.1s later this month could make it a more regular threat.

“I think we are bringing upgrades now almost to every race. The factory is running on full steam,” Wolff said. “We’ve never had this in 12 years — that we were able to develop, design, manufacturer, bring to the track and have the quality in the pieces. I’ve seriously never seen that pace.

“Every single race we have brought upgrades. Every single race, we will bring upgrades and I hope by the summer break we can make another step. Now everyone else is working hard. But if we can eat a bit away at that gap… I think it was 15 seconds in 70 laps, so two tenths [a lap]… and that’s OK. That’s a P3 and hopefully if we can half it, we can race in front.”

Russell radio message ‘the single dumbest thing I’ve done at Mercedes’ – Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admits a radio message he sent to George Russell during the Austrian Grand Prix was “the single dumbest thing I’ve done in 12 years”. Russell was running a strong third but under pressure from Carlos Sainz and …

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admits a radio message he sent to George Russell during the Austrian Grand Prix was “the single dumbest thing I’ve done in 12 years”.

Russell was running a strong third but under pressure from Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri in the closing stages of Sunday’s race, when Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided. That opened up the potential for a victory that Russell would go on and secure, but Wolff had jumped on team radio to say “George you can win this!”, causing Russell to reply “Just let me f***ing drive!” due to the timing.

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“I think I know the drivers pretty well and what they need at times to encourage or to refocus, because I spend so much time with them,” Wolff said. “I think I know their psychology. But this one is the single dumbest thing I’ve done in 12 years at Mercedes.

“I will be forever ashamed because you look at where you message the driver and you don’t do it during braking. Or in high-speed corners. But I didn’t look on the GPS I just saw these two taking each other out and we anticipated it, and then just emotionally pressed the button and said ‘we can win this’.

“I could have taken him out with that message! Imagine how that could have felt. I’m emotional. I enjoy us doing well and I enjoy seeing Lewis [Hamilton] and George doing well. I was just carried away with that situation, but seriously, embarrassing!”

The reasoning for Wolff’s excitement was the contact between the top two that came after an increasingly intense fight, with the team principal saying he wasn’t expecting an incident when the scrap first started given the generally good relationship between Verstappen and Norris.

“I think we were trying to be rational and we were en route for P3 and that is where the pace of the car was and what George was able to extract, was a solid result,” he said. “That’s what it was.

“Then obviously you see these two in the front, driving each other hard. We know they are really good friends and that was fun to watch. That was how I perceived it at that stage.

“Then obviously it got a bit more fierce and at a certain stage we said, well it could be possible that they collide, and then it literally happened, both of them with a puncture. We couldn’t believe it when we saw it.”

Horner labels Wolff’s talk of signing Verstappen a ‘distraction tactic’

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes his Mercedes opposite number Toto Wolff has been talking about the potential of signing Max Verstappen to try and distract from his own team’s recent struggles. Verstappen (at right, above, with …

Verstappen (at right, above, with Horner and Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko, at left) was linked to a possible move to Mercedes earlier this year amid the controversy surrounding Horner’s behavior and a wider power battle within Red Bull, with Wolff publicly stating he’d like to sign the three-time world champion to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. After Verstappen insisted he would be driving for Red Bull in 2025, Wolff still questioned whether that was the case, but Horner says there’s no chance the Dutchman will be racing for Mercedes next year.

“It only re-affirms everything that we already know,” Horner said. “Max is an important part of our team. He’s had all of his victories and podiums in Red Bull Racing cars, his three world championships so far, and he’s a crucial member of the team. He enjoys being part of the team. He’s got a tremendous group around him. And we know what the future looks like.

“Obviously, a lot of noise has been made about him going elsewhere. And sometimes, one just thinks that that’s a distraction tactic that’s just thrown in because you have to question what are the motives obviously behind that.

“The driver that’s created all the movement in the market had all the information about the engines and 2026 regulations and so on and chose to leave and left the vacancy at Mercedes, which is why there has now been obviously a little bit of speculation as to who will fill that seat. But it won’t be Max Verstappen.”

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Horner was pressed on his relationship with Jos Verstappen — Max’s father — who is at the Austrian Grand Prix and scheduled to take part in a legends parade for Red Bull, but while he wouldn’t be drawn on his personal relationship with Verstappen Sr., he did joke that he could be the one to join Mercedes.

“The relationship with Max has always been very good, very strong. He’s a key part of our team and he’s our driver. He’s the one that is important, obviously, to have a strong relationship with. I’ve never had an issue with any of our drivers’ fathers in the past. And whatever Jos’s issues are, I’ve really got nothing to comment on.

“I thought Max was pretty resolute in what he said. He’s always been absolutely consistent with that with the team. So, yeah, why Toto? I think it’s purely a tactic of distraction. Of course, if he does want a Verstappen for next year, then I guess Jos is potentially available.”

Mercedes upgrades now ‘making much more sense’ – Wolff

Mercedes will continue bringing new parts to its 2024 car at the Spanish Grand Prix as Toto Wolff says its development path is now “making much more sense”. George Russell qualified on pole position and finished third in the Canadian Grand Prix, …

Mercedes will continue bringing new parts to its 2024 car at the Spanish Grand Prix as Toto Wolff says its development path is now “making much more sense”.

George Russell qualified on pole position and finished third in the Canadian Grand Prix, fighting for the win throughout the weekend as Mercedes solidified recent gains to challenge at the front of the field. With Lewis Hamilton fourth and similarly quick, Wolff says the upgrades brought to the car since the start of the European season have all been working effectively and allowing Mercedes to push ahead with growing confidence in its current direction.

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“I think definitely since Imola we’ve taken the right steps and put parts on the car that were working,” Wolff said. “That was something we were struggling with in the past couple of years, and now directionally we seem to be adding performance every weekend, and with new parts coming also in Barcelona that should help us. So I would very much hope that we can continue this positive trajectory.

“I’m always a bit worried when you’ve been carried away that everything seems to now be falling into place, because this is a difficult sport. We’ve had this positive trajectory now for the last three races and everything seems to be making much more sense. The stopwatch will tell us.

“Sometimes when things interact well with each other, the overall flow structure becomes more efficient, you are able to optimize the ride height and bit-by-bit we’ve added more performance. So another step in Barcelona and hopefully we will see it on the stopwatch.”

Wolff says it’s not just the front wing that was introduced in Monaco that led to Mercedes’ performance level in Canada, stating it’s a combination of different parts over the past few rounds.

“Sometimes when you bring a highly visible part like bodywork or a front wing, this is pretty much the talk of what has changed the performance,” he said. “The truth is we have, over the last few races, brought so many new parts, visible and invisible to the eye, that have contributed milliseconds to more performance.

“I think this is where those marginal gains then have that positive effect and that was just a huge effort of the factory. So I think the wheel has started to get some real motion now.”

Wolff too quick to dismiss Red Bull challengers – Horner

Toto Wolff was too quick to dismiss the chances of any other driver winning the championship this year after Max Verstappen started being challenged more regularly, according to Christian Horner. Verstappen comfortably won three of the first four …

Toto Wolff was too quick to dismiss the chances of any other driver winning the championship this year after Max Verstappen started being challenged more regularly, according to Christian Horner.

Verstappen comfortably won three of the first four races this season, leading Wolff to state that “No one is going to catch Max this year … basically this season now is best of the rest” after the Japanese Grand Prix. However, with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris both winning since then and putting pressure on Verstappen at multiple races, Horner believes the Mercedes team principal’s claim was premature.

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“Yeah, I think so, perhaps not with Mercedes, but I think Ferrari and McLaren certainly look competitive, they cannot be discounted,” Horner said. “It’s a long, long championship and obviously they’ve taken a reasonable chunk of points [in Monaco].

“I didn’t really understand Mercedes’ race, it was a hugely conservative race by George [Russell], to give up so much time and then go so fast at the end of the race, it didn’t really make a lot of sense, but I don’t think it would’ve changed…they weren’t going to overtake anybody, it was just a very defeatist race to try and defend fifth.”

Russell’s drive to fifth held Verstappen to sixth place in Monaco, allowing Leclerc to close the gap in the drivers’ championship to 31 points, and with Sergio Perez not scoring Ferrari also moved within 24 points of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.

“Obviously, we need to make sure that we have got both cars up there scoring points, because we cannot dismiss the threat of Ferrari and McLaren in both championships.

“There’s a long way to go, we’ve never taken anything for granted in the championship. [Monaco] is won on a Saturday and obviously we had a poor day. To understand what the issues were with the ride and curbs we’ve got a huge amount of data now to go away and look at and look to address for the upcoming races.”

Horner says the source of Red Bull’s struggles with curb-riding in Imola and Monaco needs to be clearly identified before the team can try and resolve it, suggesting it is unlikely it would be completely eradicated in Canada.

“First of all, it’s understanding what the issue is. I think once we’ve done that, then you can look at what the relevant fix is. It’s a continual process, you’re into the law of diminishing returns and your focus changes depending what your problems are so I think quite a lot of focus will now happen on why have we had these ride issues why is the car struggling on the curbs.

“The VCARB car is running with our suspension from last year, it didn’t seem to have the same issues, so we need to understand if it is something we have introduced.”

Wolff not envious of McLaren despite its Mercedes-powered success

Toto Wolff insists he is not envious of McLaren for being able to challenge for victories with a Mercedes power unit while the works team still struggles to fight at the front. Mercedes has won just one race since the introduction of new regulations …

Toto Wolff insists he is not envious of McLaren for being able to challenge for victories with a Mercedes power unit while the works team still struggles to fight at the front.

Mercedes has won just one race since the introduction of new regulations at the start of 2022, with George Russell’s success at Brazil in that first season its sole victory. Despite finishing second in the constructors’ championship last year, Mercedes has been clearly overtaken by its customer McLaren, with Lando Norris winning in Miami and just 0.7s behind Max Verstappen in Imola, but Wolff sees it as a positive for his team to focus on.

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“First of all why I love this sport is the stopwatch never lies and they have done a good job,” Wolff said. “And we have to have respect from how they have done things, and more competition at the front is good at the sport and good for everyone.

“I’m not looking at that with envy, quite contrary, I’m looking at that and saying this is what we need to achieve, because they’ve been able to do that. At the end of the day it’s just good engineering, you have to put one step after the other, and they changed the concept late in the winter, I believe, with their car, and bided their time and brought an upgrade and since then they have added performance.

“This is where we are trying to get to to a stable platform, ‘OK this is what we want from the car’ and then the development machine just runs with it. We have been zig zagging a little bit of where we thought we needed to have the performance. One thing in Formula 1 you can’t buy is time, and once you’ve got it wrong you’re on the back foot, and it’s very difficult to leapfrog.”

As well as highlighting how the power unit plays a part in McLaren’s performance, Wolff reiterates how Mercedes can take inspiration from the fact that it is possible to quickly become a threat to Red Bull with the right development path.

“Yeah I think it’s a fantastic recovery story, when you look at where McLaren was 12 months ago, I think they barely got out of Q1 and now they’re fighting square and fair for race victories,” he said. “The car’s not only fast but also very good on the tires.

“For us we see the engine, and the engine is good on the tires as well, and on the other side the recovery they made from what I said a backmarker to a front runner in less than 12 months, basically July to April, and that’s something we are looking at and saying it is possible with the right steps to make a car that is at the end of that front pack to hopefully make a step forward.”

Wolff not keen on early Antonelli promotion despite Williams request

Toto Wolff insists Mercedes does not want Andrea Kimi Antonelli to be promoted to Formula 1 before his 18th birthday, despite a Williams request for special dispensation for the Italian. Antonelli’s impressive form in junior categories – winning a …

Toto Wolff insists Mercedes does not want Andrea Kimi Antonelli to be promoted to Formula 1 before his 18th birthday, despite a Williams request for special dispensation for the Italian.

Antonelli’s impressive form in junior categories – winning a pair of F4 titles in 2022 and two Formula Regional championships last year – led to him jumping up to F2 as a 17-year-old this season. With Williams team principal James Vowles evaluating options for the next two years for his driver lineup, the FIA confirmed a request was made for Antonelli to be allowed to race in F1 prior to his 18th birthday in late August, but Wolff says that’s not a call that Mercedes is backing.

“We haven’t asked for the dispensation,” Wolff told SiriusXM. “I think Kimi needs to concentrate on his F2 campaign and the testing he does with us, that’s the most important. (The testing) was good, but early days, there’s no real comparison.”

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After admitting that Max Verstappen is key to the driver market in 2025, Wolff says a decision on the second seat at Mercedes for next year is still some time away, and wants a more immediate focus to be on finding performance after a challenging few years for the team.

“We see gains,” Wolff said after introducing a floor upgrade to Miami. “Our car is still so difficult to tune that it’s almost hit and miss, but we know what it is. We are bringing parts, it’s not a matter of weeks or races, but we are getting there.

“If it’s not us winning, I’d like the Mercedes-powered team to win, it shows that our power unit is competitive. McLaren was 16th or 18th or so last year, they were so far off the pace, and in less than 12 months they have turned it around. So that’s good for us to see, it’s a good inspiration.

“We have plenty of bits that are coming all the time. It’s not like a miraculous 0.2s gain, but more learning and more bits are coming.”

F1 driver market on hold for Verstappen, Wolff says

Toto Wolff says Max Verstappen is the key piece in the driver market at the moment and that Mercedes will wait to see if he takes an opportunity to leave Red Bull. Verstappen is under contract until the end of the 2028 season, but has suggested he …

Toto Wolff says Max Verstappen is the key piece in the driver market at the moment and that Mercedes will wait to see if he takes an opportunity to leave Red Bull.

Verstappen is under contract until the end of the 2028 season, but has suggested he could move on if certain key personnel — citing Helmut Marko as one such figure — were to leave. Mercedes team principal Wolff has openly stated he would take any chance to sign Verstappen to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton next year, and after Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull was confirmed last week the Mercedes team principal believes the reigning champion is the main influence in the driver market right now.

“I think for all of the teams he is,” Wolff said. “As I said before, if I was him, I wouldn’t leave, at least for 2025. But it’s all in his (hands). He’s the leading driver. He’s the top guy at the moment and that’s why he needs to make those decisions. And there may not be any decision to take. Maybe everything continues like it is but that is also guidance for us.”

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Wolff denied there would be a meeting with Verstappen’s management immediately after the Miami Grand Prix weekend, but wouldn’t rule out future talks to understand if the Dutchman is open to a move.

“There’s always plenty of meetings. I can’t really say about the second driver. I think we’ve talked about the possibilities. I want to be fair to these guys and not make it look like we are playing chess with humans, because we are not doing that.

“I think we want to take our time and see where Max’s thinking goes and at the same time monitor the other drivers. Carlos [Sainz] was very strong [in Miami] again and that’s why we’re a little bit in an observation mode at the moment.”

With paddock sources suggesting there is growing confidence in Mercedes’ power unit development ahead of the new 2026 regulations, Zak Brown’s claim that McLaren has received multiple approaches from Red Bull personnel wanting to move was backed up by Wolff, although he downplayed the significance.

“Yeah, Zak is absolutely correct. We’ve seen Red Bull CVs through all of the levels,” Wolff said. “But I would say this is not anything out of the ordinary. People change teams and want to change the environment.

“I’ve come to the point that I’m not really interested in what’s going on there with the leadership. I’m not listening to anything anymore. I think it’s important for us to look at our team and develop the strong people and hopefully get some interesting, competent people from other teams into Mercedes and provide an exciting journey to recovery.”

Wolff admits Mercedes situation is ‘brutally painful’

Mercedes is in a “brutally painful” position three races into the Formula 1 season, team principal Toto Wolff concedes. Mercedes has only scored a best result of fifth place so far this season, with both cars retiring from the last round in …

Mercedes is in a “brutally painful” position three races into the Formula 1 season, team principal Toto Wolff concedes.

Mercedes has only scored a best result of fifth place so far this season, with both cars retiring from the last round in Melbourne. Lewis Hamilton was out early with a power unit issue, while George Russell crashed in the closing laps chasing Fernando Alonso. A post-race penalty for Alonso cost Aston Martin two points and dropped it behind Mercedes into fifth in the constructors’ standings, and Wolff insists there is reason for optimism but he doesn’t know when Mercedes will turn its form around.

“When I look at the positives, I think we took many potential root causes out of the equation,” Wolff said. “We weren’t sure about our suspension. We weren’t sure about the stiffness of our gearbox carrier. We had a vibrating steering rack. All of those things have disappeared.

“But fundamentally, whatever we see in the tunnel doesn’t correlate with what’s happening on the track. It is not a single person that says, ‘I would interpret that data in this way’ and because of dogmatism, we’re not making any progress. I don’t see dogmatism. I see an open environment where people share, where people say, ‘Maybe in my area we are making mistakes.’

“It’s so tough — in my career, in everything I’ve done before, be it in finance and investment — that you know which screws to turn. Sometimes it takes time because back in my Williams days, I knew what was missing. But here, I don’t think we are missing something. It is just a complication of what’s happening with the car that we can’t see.

“It’s like an on-off switch. And then you see the progress that McLaren and Ferrari have made. This is the difference between last year and this year. [Melbourne] was a pretty good weekend for us last year. We were leading at the beginning, one and two. So we’ve got to really dig deep because it is brutally painful.”

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While Mercedes is arguably the fifth-fastest team at the moment, Wolff says the progress made by its immediate rivals behind Red Bull serve as a reminder of what is possible even after a difficult start to a season.

“I think there were times in the race where we massively lacked pace. And then there were times at the end when you compare like for like, we were doing OK,” he noted. “Still not where we want to be. But you could see in the second stint, Fernando on the medium, we couldn’t come anywhere close.

“The lap times looked like a second off the McLaren’s. And then suddenly the last one, when we went for it, not worrying too much, the lap times were competitive. Not [matching Carlos] Sainz, but it was much better.

“So clearly, we started the season in the belief that this car is better than it was last year. Then you look at last year and look at these guys — [Charles] Leclerc crashed out and Sainz was fourth and got relegated to outside of the top 10 because of the penalty. But on the road, he was fourth and McLaren was 17th, 18th, 19th. And they are 40s ahead of us.

“So obviously on one side, I want to punch myself on the nose. But on the other side, it is also a testimony of that when you get things right, you can turn it around pretty quickly and you’ve just got to continue to believe. But at the moment it is very, a very tough time.”

Hamilton backs Wolff legal action due to lack of accountability, transparency at FIA

Lewis Hamilton says there is no transparency or accountability at the FIA and hopes Susie Wolff’s legal action against the governing body will lead to change. Wolff has filed a criminal complaint in French courts after statements made by the FIA in …

Lewis Hamilton says there is no transparency or accountability at the FIA and hopes Susie Wolff’s legal action against the governing body will lead to change.

Wolff has filed a criminal complaint in French courts after statements made by the FIA in December that she claims called her integrity into question, relating to a potential conflict of interest investigation including the F1 Academy managing director and her husband Toto. Hamilton suggests recent developments involving FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner — who were both cleared after internal investigations — shows there needs to be external influence on certain matters.

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“Firstly, I’m incredibly proud of Susie,” Hamilton said. “I think she is so brave, and she stands for such great values. She’s such a leader, and in a world where often people are silenced, for her to be standing up sends such a great message.

“I love that she’s taken it out of this world, fighting it from the outside, because there is a real lack of accountability here, within this sport, within the FIA — things that are happening behind closed doors, there is no transparency, there is really no accountability, and we need that. I think the fans need that. How can you trust the sport and what is happening here if you don’t have that?”

The FIA’s Ethics Committee announced on Wednesday night that it had cleared Ben Sulayem of any wrongdoing after allegations from a whistleblower regarding potential interference into F1 events, while at Red Bull the complainant against Horner has taken the matter to the governing body, having been suspended on full pay earlier this month.

“Hopefully this stand that [Wolff’s] taking now will create change, will have a positive impact, and especially for women,” Hamilton said. “It is still a male-dominated sport, and we’re living in a time where the message is if you file a complaint, you will be fired, and that is a terrible narrative to be projecting to the world, especially when we’re talking about inclusivity here in the sport. We need to make sure we stay true to the core values.”

When he and Mercedes teammate George Russell were asked if they are confident that Ben Sulayem is the right man to lead the FIA and has their backing, Hamilton said off-microphone: “He never has.”

For his part, Russell called for an explanation of the facts around recent investigations, admitting it’s tough to not be skeptical when attempts are made to keep them private.

“I think as drivers, we have a role within the teams, and you trust that the leaders in this sport have the best interests at their heart rather than their own interests,” Russell said. “I think it goes back to the transparency side of things. If things are transparent and we see the outcome of these cases, we all have a chance to judge for ourself with all of the facts and figures in front of us. But when we don’t have the facts and figures, and there is no transparency, you always think there’s something being hidden.

“That’s why I think it’s so important for the sport now, as Lewis said, to send the right message to everybody who is supporting Formula 1, watching Formula 1, wants to be involved in Formula 1, that things aren’t just swept under the carpet.”