Toto Wolff revealed he encourages everybody in the Mercedes Formula One team to search for somebody that annoys them and they want to beat as it helps motivate them.
Even though it might not have seemed like it in the last two seasons, Mercedes is one of the most successful teams in Formula One history.
The F1 team has achieved incredible accomplishments under the lead of its team principal, Toto Wolff, ever since its re-inception in 2010.
Silver Arrows won seven consecutive Drivers Championships from 2014 to 2020 and eight consecutive Constructors' Championships from 2014 to 2021.
However, Mercedes lost its advantage over other teams with new technical regulations introduced in 2022 and fell back down the grid as it started struggling compared to the dominant Red Bull.
The Austrian team principal gave insight into how he leads the team and encourages motivation in thousands of members in Mercedes. He told the media:
"I believe in enemy building and looking at people that motivate you, that annoy you, that you want to beat. I've encouraged everybody in the company to find out who that is in the other teams."
There is a saying that goes, "There is no such thing as a bad motivation," as in the end, no matter what it is that gets you going, the results matter.
Mercedes currently doesn't have the results the team was used to so the team principal needs to keep motivated both his team and himself.
While some might expect one of Wolff's main enemies would be Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner, Wolff quickly cut the speculations as he said none of his enemies are from Formula One.
"Spend some time on LinkedIn and see who it is. I have two windows that are permanently open on my laptop, and it's no one from Formula 1."
Mercedes's team principal recently revealed his team will be changing their car entirely for the next season and that numbers from simulations are quite promising. Would you like to see Silver Arrows competing for the Championship again?