The Mercedes team boss was also surprised by how important the second place for the constructors in the last race was to the team.
The Mercedes team boss did not consider it an important question whether they would finish this year’s World Constructors’ Championship in second or third place. According to Toto Wolff, their winless year is still disappointing. After defeating Ferrari in a close battle in Abu Dhabi, he was still able to celebrate their partial success sincerely.
In his year-end interview with the team, Wolff actually mentioned the year-end race as the emotional high point of the year. “The good moment was Sunday night in Abu Dhabi. I never cared about second or third place because you want first. But success was more emotional and very important for the team.” said the Austrian.
He admitted that the fight with Ferrari was a case of split consciousness, as the advantage of third place was that they would get 7% extra development time in the wind tunnel and in the simulator field. Overall, he feels this is how they have performed best. “Obviously this is not a one-dimensional issue. If I had been asked about this at the start of the season I would have said that it doesn’t matter if you finish second or third in the league. From a sporting point of view, it’s an advantage to have more time in the wind tunnel for next year, Seven percent more in third place than in second place.”
He added: “But then the situation changed, because it has financial implications for all our employees because of the bonuses, and I have to take care of everyone in the management, so it is a very important issue, even if it is not very important from a purely sporting point of view.” Point of view. Being second in the tournament that night was a great feeling. “I didn’t expect this feeling, but it was clear how important it is to strengthen team spirit.”
Wolf admitted.
According to him, everyone in their team needed this kind of push during the year, because failure and problems destroy fighting spirit and motivation. “The good thing is that we support each other. Sometimes we needed to improve the mood, and sometimes I needed help with this. Together, we try to pass the baton to each other in order to give our best at the given moment.”
From this point of view, he is particularly proud of Mercedes. Wolf has always tried to create an environment within the house where scapegoating and pointing fingers at each other is not the norm. According to him, this is their real strength.
“You don’t want a team of stars, you want a team of stars.”
“This means that working together does not just mean that we are colleagues and from a professional point of view we are sharing a common journey. It is about much more than that. If you know that this organization gives you freedom and a safe environment, you can achieve more. Maybe not every season, but on a regular basis.” “Generally, in the long run, it will be much better.” Wolf said with conviction.
