Toto Wolff Explains the Intention and Emotions Behind His Famous “Wolff Table Smash”

Toto Wolff is the backbone of the Mercedes F1 team. The Austrian is handling the team since 2013 after he left his role as the executive director at Williams. Since then the team has won 6 consecutive double championships from 2014-2019. The team is performing exceptionally well under the leadership of Toto Wolff and with the support of drivers they had, be it Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, or Valtteri Bottas.

Toto Wolff seems to be one of the cool-headed team principals on the grid. But sometimes even the coolest of the cool can get angry due to the circumstances this game offers. We all seen how Toto reacted during the 2017 Australian Grand Prix when Sebastian overtook Hamilton. He took out his brunt on the table.

via Gfycat

In a high octane sport like F1, it is common for team principals/drivers to show their emotions some times. We have seen multiple incidents when even the best of the drivers engage in fights like that of Eliseo Salazar-Nelson Piquet or the latest one of Max and Ocon. We have even seen some of the team principals engaging in verbal fights like that of Christian Horner and Cyril Abiteboul.

Toto Wolff talks about the ‘Table Smashing’ event

It was the 2017 Australian GP when Toto Wolff released his disappointment on a tabletop. It was when the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel came out of the pits before Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari had exploited a difficult pass and developed a lead. Hamilton was stuck behind the traffic that was only enough for them to fit in a pit stop and never to let go of the lead. It was the conclusive move of the race, and Wolff knew it. The Wolff Smash was caught on the television.

On an episode of Beyond The Grid, the Austrian lifts the lid and shares his part of the story.

The Anchor asked: “What about stresses. You always have this very relaxed nature apart from when you are smashing the desk, otherwise, you look very calm. What have been the biggest stresses? What gets you?”

Toto said: “The racing itself. The smashing maybe doesn’t make me look the most intelligent while it is happening. But again, it’s me, I am getting angry when we are losing a position. I am emotionally involved and passionate.”

The fans once again saw the anger of Toto Wolff during the 2019 German Grand Prix. Mercedes were celebrating the 125th year in motorsports. The race was a disaster for the team as Valtteri crashed and Hamilton finished 9th on the grid.