“It Didn’t Have the Look of an F1 Team”: Toto Wolff Unmasks Mercedes’ Shambolic State of Affairs Before Conquering the World With Lewis Hamilton

The F1 world saw one team dominating the grid for 7 straight years, from 2014 to 2020. And that team was Mercedes. Along with Lewis Hamilton, a big portion of the credit for steering the team to win multiple championships goes to Team Principal Toto Wolff. But as per the Austrian, the team was mismanaged when he joined the Brackley outfit in 2013.

Mercedes Benz returned to F1 as a Constructor in 2010, after being absent since 1956. They battled in the midfield for the first three years. Wolff joined the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team in 2013 as its Executive Director. That year, Mercedes finished P2 in the Constructors’. And in 1 year, he turned around the team and won the championship with Lewis Hamilton in 2014. Till 2021, everything looked rosy and effortless after that 1st championship. But as per Wolff, that is not how it all began.

In a new documentary on Sky Sports, Wolff said, as quoted by, f1i.autojournal.fr, “When I first came to Brackley, I was looking forward to meeting Ross Brawn for whom I had great admiration as an engineer. In the waiting room, I didn’t feel like I was in a Formula 1 team. There was an old Daily Mail on the table and an old cup of coffee with dried coffee inside. When I went to the meeting, I said I didn’t feel like I was in a Formula 1 team.”

He further added, “The answer I got was that the Daily Mail or the old cup of coffee doesn’t make the car faster, which is the responsibility of engineering. I didn’t agree because it shows if you have attention to detail, if you’re a perfectionist or if you’re looking for excellence, it starts with cleanliness and a clinical environment, especially in Formula 1.”

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The team might have been in disorder a decade ago. But now, Toto Wolff has ensured that things go as planned and the team stays optimistic about the future.

Toto Wolff Raises Lewis Hamilton’s Hopes For Austria

Lewis Hamilton has had two great consecutive podiums in Spain and Barcelona. After those performances, the graph is expected to go up. And as per Team Principal, Toto Wolff, it will. He commented on the W14’s pace and cited the upgrade package as the main reason for bettering performances.

Wolff said, as quoted by mirror.co.uk, “The W14 should be better here than in Canada. A podium was a solid result and we saw encouraging signs from our updated package. Austria is always a special weekend, as it’s my home race.”

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Austria is Wolff’s birthplace, but so is it Red Bull’s home ground. Will Lewis Hamilton be able to get his team boss a homecoming victory or will Max Verstappen do it for Red Bull?