Mercedes Team Principal, Toto Wolff, brought the team to success and claims it is not the car or strategy but the values that got them to be the best team in Formula One. Thus, he will not allow any kind of politics to affect his team.
Wolff joined the German constructors in 2013 after quitting from Williams F1. Since then he developed a team prioritizing loyalty, integrity, and respect, which makes Mercedes different from the other teams. Therefore, Toto will not allow any disputes or politics around his team.
Toto Wolff Strictly Halts Allowance for “Politics and Dickheads” Around Mercedes F1 Team(Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Toto Wolff reported, “Politics you can do outside to make things go towards your direction. No allowance for politics around the team. No place for d**kheads. The ‘All-Blacks’ mentality.”
Toto Wolff on protecting Mercedes from politics
The Mercedes boss has always raised his voice against anything which threatened his team. He went against the policy of reverse grid and an early engine freeze for the 2022 season.
The Brackley-based team will take the major hit from these policies and thus, Wolff went against them. He also claimed this is a sport where only the best driver and best machine should win. Therefore, letting the weaker drivers have the front positions on the grid instead of the stronger ones and also allowing an engine freeze to equalizing the performance among all the teams is a disrespectful act towards the sport.
Toto Wolff raises his voice against the policies of the reverse grid and an early engine freeze for the 2022 season. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images for Laureus)
Wolff added he would have gone against the policies even if he was at Williams, who could have most fruitful results from the reverse grid and an early engine freeze.
The Austrian boss led Mercedes to win the world championships in a row since 2014 and will give his all to protect his team and win the eighth championship.
Wolff talked about his caring nature for the team, “What it triggers in me is an instinct of ‘this is my tribe, and I need to protect my tribe, no matter what’. It triggers an emotional response in me. It’s not even something that I’m doing on purpose. I can analyze rationally what I’m doing. But I don’t know, it just comes out.”
Lewis Hamilton won the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
In the 2021 season, Mercedes had a poor start, unable to make a mark in events before the Bahrain Grand Prix. The German constructor doesn’t have the fastest car in the season but still, Lewis Hamilton took down Max Verstappen in the season opener with the help of impressible skills and strategies.
Toto acknowledges not having the best car like their Austrian rivals, but they have excellent strategies and policies that make up for their inferiority. The German constructors are busy working with the drivers and W12 to witness the checkered flag in the upcoming race in Imola on April 18.
Read More
‘Mercedes Still Have the Edge’ Over Red Bull in Strategies Claims Will Buxton Post-Bahrain GP
