Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff says Hamilton may end his F1 career after Abu Dhabi GP controversy

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that Lewis Hamilton may quit Formula 1 racing after getting disappointed in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale. Hamilton lost the race that would see him claim a record breaking eighth championship title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after a controversial last lap Safety Car. The directives given by Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi allowed the the lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to overtake the Safety Car despite initially saying it would not be allowed. The Safety Car cut Hamilton’s 10 second lead and Verstappen got the upper hand winning the race. This got Mercedes disappointed by the absolute turn of events with Wolff saying the race controversy got him and Hamilton ‘disillusioned’ with Formula 1 as a sport. “It is going to take a long time to digest what has happened on Sunday….. I don’t think we will ever get over it, that’s not possible,” Wolff told reporters. “Lewis and I are disillusioned at the moment. We’re not disillusioned with the sport. We love the sport with every bone in our body. And we love it because the stopwatch never lies.” “But if we break that fundamental principle of spotting fairness and authenticity of the sport, then suddenly the stopwatch doesn’t become relevant anymore. Because we are exposed to random decision-making. “And it is clear that you may fall out of love with a sport if you start to question, with all the work you have been doing, all the sweat and tears and blood.” Toto Wolff did not disclose whether Hamilton will be back for the 2022 F1 season in February as the Brit’s contract with Mercedes runs upto the end of 2022. “I would very much hope that Lewis continues racing because he’s the greatest driver of all time,” the 49-year-old said. “We will be working through the events over the next weeks and months and I think that as a racer, his heart will say ‘I need to continue’, because he is at the peak of his game. “But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday, also because he is a man with clear values and it is difficult for him to understand how that happened.” “I just have to do the utmost that I can to help him overcome this, in order for him to return strong and with a love of the sport and trust in the decision-making of the sport next year, and I wish very much that will be the case.” Hamilton has been silent after the Yas Marina race and quietly jetted back to UK on Wednesday to receive a knighthood award from Prince Charles at Windsor Castle.

Hamilton and Wolff to miss FIA Prize Giving Gala

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and driver Lewis Hamilton will not be attending Thursday’s FIA Prize Giving Gala in Paris. The event which is held after the end of every Formula 1 season requires the top three drivers in the championship to attend. This means championship winner Max Verstappen, first runner up Lewis Hamilton and second runner up Valtteri Bottas have to make an appearance for the event. However, Hamilton and his boss Toto Wolff confirmed they will not be attending the event despite Mercedes taking its eighth consecutive Constructors Championship title. According to article 6.6 of the Sporting Regulations Act, drivers finishing first, second and third in the Championship must be present at the annual FIA Prize Giving ceremony. This means that Hamilton will be in breach of the rule but it is not yet clear if the seven-time world champion will face any disciplinary action for missing the event. The Mercedes Formula one and Formula E team also missed the Tuesday photoshoot pre-Gala event. The Formula E team took both the drivers and constructors championship this year. This comes after Lewis Hamilton was denied the championship title by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen following a controversial last lap safety car. The Race Director’s instructions that allowed the lapped cars to overtake the Safety Car received a lot of criticism because initially the directives did not allow for such to happen. Verstappen had the upper hand after the Race Control instructions and went ahead to overtake Lewis Hamilton on the last lap winning the race and claiming the Drivers Championship title. After the race Mercedes protested the controversial move but was dismissed by the Race Stewards. The team recently announced they have no further intentions appealing the matter. This now means Verstappen can now receive the championship trophy this evening in the Gala event.

Wolff and Horner play cool ahead of the final title decider

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Red Bull’s Christian Horner played cool and even ‘shook on it’ on the Friday press briefing ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale. The rival team bosses have had a somewhat ‘shaky relationship’ throughout the 2021 Formula 1 season. This was evident as the pair barely looked each other in the eye a couple of weeks ago discussing about the 2021 Formula 1 championship. However, today the duo put all the tension aside by shaking twice. The pressure build-up between Red Bull and Mercedes has been immense as they contend for both Drivers and Constructors championship titles. This comes as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are equal on points as they head to the final campaign of the 2021 Formula 1 season. Verstappen leads with 9 wins ahead of Hamilton with 8. Looking at the Constructors championship, Mercedes is ahead of Red Bull with 587.5 and 559.5 points respectively with Horner saying it would take a miracle to win the Constructors title. “Good luck. May the best man and the best team win,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reaching out to shake Horner’s hand with the constructor’s Championship trophy laying between them. “Exactly,” Red Bull boss Horner replied accepting the handshake,”We’re competing for two of the biggest trophies in sport of course, the competition is intense.” “It would be totally fake to sit here and say how much we love each other… because I’m not going on holiday with you after this weekend.” “The only chance we have to win this championship is to beat Lewis, and we want to do that on the track,” Horner added.

Toto Wolf annoyed with Bottas for letting Verstappen through on Turn 1

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Toto Wolff is unhappy with how poleman Valtteri Bottas failed to prevent Max Verstappen from overhauling both Mercedes drivers at the start of the Mexican GP. Ahead of Sunday’s race, Hamilton vowed to work with Bottas to fend off any attacks from the Red Bull camp. But as the front-runners barreled down to the first corner, Bottas remained alongside his teammate in the middle of the track rather than move towards to the left towards the racing line to block Verstappen’s charging Red Bull. And to add insult to injury, the Finn was then tagged and spun around by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, a setback from which Bottas could not recover. “That should not happen,” Wolff told Sky. “I think we had two cars in front and seemed to open up the scene for Max to come around the outside.” “And even the spin afterwards, and the complete loss of points with Valtteri’s car when there could have been a third or fourth place is annoying, to say the least.” Bottas eventually secured the fastest race lap, depriving Verstappen of an extra point, but Wolff appeared indifferent to the feat. “I mean, that doesn’t really console me at that stage.” Looking back on the race, the Austrian conceded that Mercedes would have likely been hard-pressed to prevail against Red Bull in Mexico if the start had gone according to plan “You have to congratulate Red Bull because the pace was just on another level,” Wolff said. “I don’t think we could have won the race even if he would have stayed ahead in the first corner, because they could have driven circles around us around the pit stops. “In the end, I think for Lewis’s championship it was damage limitation. And for the constructors’, Valtteri spinning out at turn one was very painful.”