The media landscape is changing rapidly, including around Formula 1. Where previously newspapers and television stations set the tone, today social media and artificial intelligence are the main carriers of news and rumors. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff views this development with mixed feelings, but at the same time also with a reserved smile.
During a small-scale media session with Dutch journalists in Zandvoort, in the run-up to the Dutch GP, Wolff addressed the flood of content circulating about him and Formula 1. “My target audience is not the social media user, but more adults,” said the Austrian. “Yet from time to time I see what is being created, to the point where even artificial intelligence falsifies photos. I look at it with a certain amusement value.”
The Mercedes executive acknowledges that the line between real and fake is becoming increasingly difficult to draw. “There is such an abundance of information that it only gets worse through iteration. You read something today and tomorrow it is already being adjusted. Everything revolves around the headline, while the article itself is often less spectacular than you think.”
‘Our audience is getting younger and more female’
However, Wolff also sees the benefits of the new dynamic. “It’s good for Formula 1. It shows how strong the sport is, how categories are emerging and how the buzz on social media has really taken over Formula 1. Our audience is getting younger and more female. We are in a great phase.”
With a touch of humor, Wolff downplays the seriousness of fake news and deepfakes. “There are even porn movies with my head on them,” he said laughing. “I’d rather have deepfake porn than no one being interested, because I also remember times when there was hardly any attention.”
For Wolff, the main thing is to maintain balance. “What I’ve learned is not to take it too personally. My communications chief Bradley Lord shows me the worst things at the end of the day – and if he wants to flatter me, also the best. But it’s part of it. This is how the sport lives today.”
