For Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari next year will not alter the friendship that the two men have maintained since 2013. Nor has it changed the way the team works.
The meeting was scheduled after the second free practice session in Singapore. It was close to midnight when Toto Wolff welcomed us on the terrace of the Mercedes hospitality suite. What was supposed to be a twenty-minute interview turned into a much longer conversation due to the unpredictable weather. A tropical downpour flooded the paddock, making it impossible to leave the shelter that had become the roof of the German stable.
This provided an opportunity to discuss how the team is striving to regain its championship form, how Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in 2025 was experienced, and why they chose a young unknown Italian, Kimi Antonelli, to replace the seven-time world champion. A free-flowing conversation, in French as always, concluded with a detail that shows how much Mercedes plans ahead. After an hour of heavy rain, the marketing team came with a box to offer all guests and team members an umbrella to face the unending downpour.
Is Mercedes’ Boss Satisfied with the Team’s Performance?
“Do three victories to date (Austria with Russell, Great Britain and Belgium with Hamilton) make the head of Mercedes a happy man about his team’s season?”
No, naturally, I am not satisfied. The goal was not to win three races. But still, it’s not bad, right? We still have too many performance variations over the season, depending on the circuits. On the three races we won, we were very strong. On other tracks, however, there is a lack of performance everywhere. And that’s what we need to work on. We need to stabilize this performance as good teams like McLaren have managed to do.
The Rise of McLaren
“Exactly, do you have an explanation for this sudden rise in power of McLaren, which was no longer a top team and has joined Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari?”
They have done a good job. It’s simple, sometimes, simplification is perhaps the path to success.
Does Mercedes Need to Simplify?
“Does that mean that at Mercedes things need to be simplified?”
The big teams have created (he corrects himself)… and we have created very complex technology. Today, for example, we have about twenty tools to work on the car’s settings. A team like McLaren, they have done a good job in this area.
“In managing these twenty tools?”
In managing what is important in terms of performance
Is Mercedes Becoming Too Analytical?
No, I wouldn’t say that. I’m not saying that our approach isn’t working, but I believe the performance fluctuations of Ferrari, Red Bull, and ourselves might be explained this way. All three of us have more variations than McLaren.
Does Red Bull’s Struggles Confirm Your Analysis That the Big Teams Are Struggling with the New Regulations?
Yes, Red Bull is suffering a lot. It’s inexplicable that the team that dominated the first six or seven races has disappeared like this…
Have You Analyzed the Possibility That They Might Have Lost a ‘Magic Weapon’, Similar to What You Once Had with Your Engine? A ‘Magic Weapon’ That McLaren Now Has with Its Flexible Front Wing?
That’s a question for the FIA, but it’s clear that Red Bull has indeed lost its strength and is losing a bit more with each race. It’s not sudden. Since Miami, they have gradually fallen back. But Ferrari also had a slump with their Barcelona upgrade that they didn’t understand.
You Naturally Perform Well on American Circuits (Austin This Weekend, Mexico on October 27 UTC, and Brazil on November 3 UTC). Are You Counting on These Three Grand Prix to Regain Form?
It’s always good to arrive at tracks we know well. That was already the case in Barcelona. So, let’s hope for that. In Austin last year, it worked out well for us before Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification (non-compliant floor).
Does This Mean That When You Design a Car, You Know It Will Perform Better on Certain Types of Tracks?
Firstly, we need to understand where we have an advantage and why. And in recent seasons, no one really gets it. We try to see patterns without any real certainty.
Did Lewis Hamilton’s Announcement of His Departure Before the Start of the Season Affect the Team?
No, not at all. The involvement of drivers in the development of a car is always overestimated.
I Was Referring to the Atmosphere That Could Have Been Affected by His Departure…
The atmosphere is excellent. We all made efforts to ensure that everything went well, even when the performance wasn’t there. It may surprise you, but everything is fine.
Have You Come to Terms with His Departure Today?
I digested the news five minutes after Lewis left me.
It’s Not Like a Love Story Ending…
No, the love for Lewis will always remain. The love for the character, for the story we lived together. Naturally, in the coming years, we will have less contact, but that won’t change the respect we have for each other or the long relationship we maintain.
Did the idea of promoting Kimi Antonelli come to you immediately, as you announced in Monza during his officialization? Without the turmoil of the Horner affair and the possibility of Max Verstappen leaving, would you have announced it earlier?
(He thinks) Yes, perhaps. But with the situation at Red Bull, there was always a possibility that something could happen there.
Kimi Antonelli: “I don’t feel like I’m replacing Lewis Hamilton”
Do you have a plan B? If by chance Max Verstappen decided to leave at the end of the year?
No, no. We are focusing on our drivers in 2025 and I hope that it will work out well.
But in 2026, if Verstappen is free, could you hire him?
We will discuss next June because that will be the first time we can know if we have given our drivers a good car and if they have done a good job.
You have seen many drivers come and go. Why do you believe so much in Antonelli?
When we look at the data from his career in the lower categories, and try to extrapolate with what we know about the person and the family, his values, it gives us a good idea of what he can become, and what we hope to have.
Do you think he’s the next Max Verstappen?
(He thinks.) I don’t know, they are all different. I hope he will be the next Kimi Antonelli, a talented driver who is the new generation behind Max. He is ten years younger. Maybe it will be a success but he will need to be educated in terms of driving, given time, not put under pressure.
Will the twenty tests you have announced for him be enough to prepare him?
No, never. Because the stress of the weekends, the media, the pressure, these are things that cannot be reproduced. It’s something that can only be learned by living it.
Next year, we are likely to see this battle of the four big teams that we are witnessing this season. What will be your plan? Continue to develop a 2025 car or bet on the radical changes of 2026?
I believe that everyone will have the same plan. The transition of development teams will happen much earlier than in previous years. Everyone will start on 2026 very early. And this can be an advantage for us. Because, given our place in the Constructors’ Championship standings, we will have much more time in CFD and in the wind tunnel.
Is the goal to be champion in 2025 or 2026?
And why not both? (he laughs). That’s always how Niki (Lauda, former co-chairman of Mercedes and three-time F1 world champion who died in 2019) answered: both!
