“I Was Speechless”- Mercedes F1’s Former Technical Director Lauds Toto Wolff for Remembering Him in Title Celebrations

Mercedes won their record-breaking 7th Constructors’ Championship title this season. The team secured the championship with a 1-2 finish by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at Imola last weekend.

Meanwhile, Toto Wolff remembered Aldo Costa in his speech after the race. Aldo Costa is considered as one of the fathers of the Mercedes F1 team. He arrived at the team in 2011 after leaving Ferrari.

“It left me speechless,” recalled Costa when Wolff remembered him. However, he explained why Wolff remembered him and discusses the atmosphere they created at Mercedes.

 The team atmosphere

In his speech, Wolff did not talk about techniques or mechanics of the team. He spoke about values and people that make the team. Costa went on to explain what makes Mercedes different and successful.

“He called Mercedes a Fun Team because it is fun to work there. Because there is unity, there is no politics. And most of all there is a climate of non-blame,” he said.

The team created an environment where you don’t get chastised for mistakes. According to Costa, when you make a mistake, you are protected within the team. More importantly, this allows the team to dare, and that in Formula 1 goes a long way to give a team that necessary edge to retain their position on the top of the foodchain.

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Mercedes are like the All Blacks

While talking about the team culture, atmosphere, unity and bond, Costa created parallels with the that of New Zealand’s Rugby team.

Costa explained, “And that culture that the walls of Brackley are imbued with is passed on. Whoever goes prepares the future, grows successors in the same philosophy.”

Mercedes have managed to secure the world title, and now they will be focused on ensuring that their drivers finish on the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Meanwhile, they will also focus on the next season with plans to build on their domination.

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