Toto Wolff couldn’t believe that Mercedes was a Formula 1 team

Toto Wolff criticized Mercedes’ attitude when he first entered the building, saying he couldn’t believe it was a Formula 1 team.

Wolff, who had previously worked with Williams, joined Mercedes as managing partner in 2013, before soon taking full responsibility for the Mercedes-Benz motorsport program.

The success they’ve had since then has been phenomenal with seven consecutive world titles, but things have changed a lot since he first walked through the door.

“When I got into Mercedes for the first time, it wasn’t what I wanted,” said Wolff on the High Performance Podcast.

“The first day I walked in, I arrived at the front desk and sat down at the front desk. It didn’t look like a Formula 1 team. On the table was an old Daily Mail from last week and coffee mugs of dried coffee, and I couldn’t believe this was the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

“Now can you tell how dry coffee cups or an old Daily Mail affect a Formula 1 team’s performance?” But it shows an attitude, it shows attention to detail.

“And I think that’s the most important thing for a high-tech team and all those soft factors that many will ignore because it’s not data, no aerodynamics, no vehicle dynamics, no car faster.

“But all of this is part of the values ​​of a team. If everyone is walking in the same direction and everyone recognizes that attention to detail is important, the bike will eventually pick up some speed. That was my first experience with Mercedes F1. ”

Find out about the latest Mercedes items in the official Formula 1 store

Wolff has overseen a very dominant period of time with the Silver Arrows for the past decade, and there have been a whole host of storylines during that time, including the intra-team feud between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton that Wolff says will never happen again .

Both won a drivers’ world championship under Wolff, with Hamilton in particular being a key factor in the team’s success and taking the crown with Mercedes in six seasons. However, Wolff emphasized that recruiting those behind the scenes plays an equally important role.

When asked which values ​​are decisive for a path to success, Wolff replied: “Character traits are the most important. Integrity, loyalty, respect for individuals, attention to detail, fanatical obsession with what you do.

“I mean, I could sit here for half an hour and say what I think is important. This can vary from person to person, but I would say that this is the core framework of the team. “

Follow us on Twitter @ Planet_F1 as well as on our Facebook page and Join Instagram!