Toto Wolff blasts ‘Mickey Mouse’ speculation about Mercedes F1

| Getty Images Friday at the Marina Bay Street Circuit offered up a qualifying session for the Sprint race at the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which included showers of sparks in the night sky as the cars rocketed around the circuit as low as possible, pushing the envelope lap after lap. But the real sparks might have been in the FIA Press Conference. Zak Brown, Toto Wolff, and Alan Permane addressed the assembled media on Friday, and it offered up a chance for the Mercedes boss to address unsourced speculation that the team has developed a preference for one driver over another in the Drivers’ Championship race. And Wolff did not hold back. “They’re brainless, whoever thinks that. I mean, it’s completely nonsensical. We’ve had it in the past with Lewis [Hamilton] fans. I mean, literally, I don’t know what’s going on. Do they think I have a button that says, ‘George [Russell] engine failure now,’ or disadvantaging one driver against the other when we are fighting for a Constructors’ Championship, when we have always had the mindset of providing everybody equal material? But I guess this is maybe where social media goes today. People hide behind their screens and then they lash out. There’s a lot of polarisation going on, and sometimes I read what people write. I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they are abusing the team or myself. I’m Satan, I’ve heard. So, yeah, overall funny. But really zero understanding and respect for people who come up with these things. They should, rather than watching Formula 1, they should do Teletubbies or some Mickey Mouse. Some of the unfounded speculation grew out of decisions by the team in how upgrades were handled, as well as the technical problems that have hit Russell’s side of the garage slightly more than teammate Kimi Antonelli’s. Wolff was then asked a follow-up question on the matter by Craig Slater of Sky Sports F1, who inquired about “[h]ow sensitive” Wolff has been with respect to George Russell, who trails Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship race, given the “old thought within Formula 1 that a team would naturally gravitate towards the driver delivering results.” The Mercedes boss then offered something of an F1 history lesson. I’ve always tried, since I came into Formula 1, even in my Williams days, to be the most balanced and the most structured, transparent, sorry, the most balanced and most transparent with the drivers. I have told this story before. I remember being a complete rookie and running into Alain Prost on the grid of a race, and I said, ‘Just out of interest, why did it go so wrong between you and Senna?’ And he said, ‘Because we never knew what the team was about. You felt that you were the flavour of the month one time, and then two months later you thought the politics were going against you. There were different situations where you had the feeling that you’re really not wanted.‘ So, I took it as my challenge to keep it always balanced. And it was not easy with Lewis and Nico [Rosberg] back in the day. And that’s why people can think what they want, but the integrity in that respect is something that’s important for me, and the drivers know it. We have had Kimi since he was 11. He is an integral part of the team. It is very nice to see him grow, be in a position now that he is fighting for a championship at such a young age, the talent he has. And then on the other side, George, who has been with us since he was 17, someone that I feel a lot of, how can I say, emotions for and compassion. We are very close. We are spending time with Carmen [Montero Mundt, Russell’s fiancée] and Susie off the track with each other. If people would see that we’re travelling together, we’re having coffee in the same coffee shop, we’re going to the gym, that’s why it’s pretty annoying to have some lunatics that have no understanding really about how relationships work coming up with these kinds of accusations. So, I don’t pay any attention to this. Most important is that George knows how the team is and Kimi knows, and we will always try to give them equal opportunity. And when it comes to the upgrade, it’s a good example. We don’t know which one is going to be quicker. And so you take a decision and say, “Let’s try to find out.” And there is no great political thinking behind it. And when it comes to racing, like the Papaya Rules, we have always been very clear that we’re not standing in each other’s way. We don’t like the yo-yo racing that could cost a position if someone is close to us, and the quicker car, if it’s behind, is always going to have an advantage. And that could go either direction, doesn’t matter. Even if it is now that it’s more realistic for Kimi to win a championship in sheer mathematical probability, we would still give George the same opportunities. And that’s important. That’s the ethos and the integrity on which the team has operated since 2013, since I came, and we are going to stick to that. And then people can think what they want. As Wolff referenced, he has a lot of history to draw upon, namely the Hamilton vs. Rosberg battle during the 2016 season when the Mercedes teammates — and friends — were clashing for the Drivers’ Championship. Rosberg ended up winning that battle, and walking away from the sport after the season, and while the passage of time has eased some of the raw emotions from that season, the lessons are still clearly in Wolff’s mind. Want to stay updated on all the latest F1 news? Download the brand new SB Nation app and join our F1 Community! There, you can read all the latest from the paddock and talk about Formula 1 all year long with fans from around the world!

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