Toto Wolff's Absence At Two Races Explained

Saturday, 14 October 2023 at 18:00

Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff's absence was explained by Communications Director Bradley Lord in a recent interview.

Some attentive F1 fans might have noticed the absence of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff during the 2023 Japanese and Qatar Grand Prix. The Austrian has recently undergone knee surgery and could not attend the races of his Formula One team as a consequence.

Mercedes Communications Director Bradley Lord recently spoke to the media about how the team has been working without the physical presence of their team principal:

"He’s been in every meeting virtually in all of the strategy discussions and then debriefs as well, so he's not been physically here but has been a strong presence in the team."

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Some people might think the physical absence of the team principal might make a difference, but even though Wolff could not attend physically, he apparently joined every single meeting online, and it was as if he was there.

“So from that point of view, it's run as normally as it can be when he's not been able to travel. But he's played his usual part in all of those discussions as well.”

The two races without Wolff have seen a little clashes between the Mercedes drivers when they almost crashed into each other at Suzuka during the Japanese Grand Prix and when they crashed into each other during the Qatar Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton took the blame for the first lap incident at Lusial International Circuit. However, the incident between two teammates is something that a team principal never wants to see and probably will be discussed with drivers, even in person.

In relation to the condition of Toto Wolff, he apparently missed the two Grand Prix weekends, so he is fit enough to be part of the remaining five and we should see him at the United States Grand Prix.

"He’s in Monaco. The doctors after his knee surgery before Japan advised him not to not to jump on the plane but just to rest his knee so that he's fit and well for the last five races."