”I’d rather fight with Niki than alone”
From the Canadian GP, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff flew to Los Angeles for a cooperation with the space project SpaceX, then on to Austin for a sponsorship event with Lewis Hamilton. The Viennese landed in Europe on Wednesday: Meeting with Flavio Briatore in Monaco. And now the countdown is on for the Mercedes home GP at Silverstone next Sunday. In a stress-free half hour, Wolff found time for a phone call with ÖSTERREICH.
AUSTRIA: Toto, it seems like everyone is attacking you right now. How are you coping?
Toto Wolff: That hits right in my comfort zone. Everyone’s been against me my whole life, but that’s where I function best. That snooty thing isn’t mine anyway. And if everyone is against me, that means I must have hit something.
AUSTRIA: You are said to have blown up quite a bit at the team manager meeting in Montreal. Did that make you so angry?
Wolff: I went up there for two reasons. Firstly, we were accused of tampering with the FIA because my lawyer is now Minister for Sport there. She is a lawyer with total integrity. Seconds, the team bosses influence their drivers not to admit in public that bouncing is a health problem. I reached out to everyone and said, all of you at least one driver has said publicly that they are either in pain or have a headache, or that they look bad and have problems driving. And you all act like it’s nothing. This is irresponsible.
AUSTRIA: Because it’s about safety
Wolff: and about the driver. You cannot try to influence a Formula 1 driver not to say anything publicly when there is a health risk. The only ones who don’t say anything about it are Leclerc and Verstappen, but they say it behind closed doors.
AUSTRIA: Critics like Helmut Marko say you just have to raise the car and the bouncing is gone. Then the Mercedes is even slower. Is that correct?
Wolff: This is a simplified representation. I have a bouncing study ahead of me, Ferrari is the highest, then we come, and Red Bull is the lowest. All cars have bouncing; that we are slow has a different background. As you can see at Ferrari, they are the fastest and jump the most.
AUSTRIA: And do you get a handle on the real background to the Mercedes backlog?
Wolff: Yes, but not overnight.
AUSTRIA: Already at the next GP in Silverstone, where has Hamilton won eight times?
Wolff: We’ve already had a few bright spots this year, like we did last time in Montreal. At Silverstone we are bringing an upgrade that goes in the right direction. But I don’t want to overshoot the mark too euphorically. In any case, the route should suit our car.
AUSTRIA: Marko admitted in Montreal that he now has Mercedes more on his radar than Ferrari. At times, he said, Mercedes was even faster than Red Bull. What do you think of this compliment?
Wolff: This is brand new. We quickly feel flattered and would like to share this optimism. But it’s not quite like that yet.
AUSTRIA: In “Fellner! Live” on oe24.TV, Marko couldn’t resist a dig in your direction. Regarding the lost Mercedes supremacy, he says that they lack a balancing authority like Niki Lauda
Wolff: This is Helmut. He’s always teasing, that’s okay. But what was true: Niki is always missing. I miss him as a friend and as a sparring partner and also as chairman. Believe me, I’d rather fight with Niki now than alone.
AUSTRIA: Marko also teased Lewis Hamilton. In Montreal he said: Suddenly his back would no longer hurt on the podium. How is he really?
Wolff: He got that under control, the back is no longer a big issue.
AUSTRIA: In our last conversation three weeks ago, you said that Mercedes had not yet written off the World Cup. Is the gap to the leader Verstappen now too big?
Wolff: The fact is: we are too far behind and we have to get that under control. The regulations will remain the same next year, every development that we bring today depends on it, which is also important for next year. We definitely need to get off the starting blocks better.
AUSTRIA: And when will George Russell win his first race?
Wolff: If we give him a car he can win with.
AUSTRIA: Can that already be in Silverstone?
Wolff: We still don’t have the package for it. But we are doing everything we can to change that.