Valtteri Bottas Reveals How Toto Wolff Is as a Leader and Team Principal at Mercedes F1

He’s led the team to 6 consecutive Championships since taking charge at Mercedes but what is he really like as a team leader? Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas revealed how Toto Wolff runs things at the Brackley outfit and what’s so special about his leadership style.

Bottas on Toto Wolff and his leadership style

Lewis Hamilton is a major contributing factor to Mercedes’ domination in the Turbo-Hybrid era. He’s brought the team Championship glory over the past 6 years but one man’s contributions are often overlooked. Toto Wolff has done a stellar job behind the scenes to create a winning machine, like Mercedes.

As a team leader, Wolff has successfully balanced the team through two completely different driver pairings. With Rosberg and Hamilton, Toto had the challenge of handling two drivers who couldn’t see eye to eye. Nevertheless, the Austrian kept the team going and never compromised on victories or the team’s aspirations.

With Bottas, Toto has a different kind of problem. Unlike the Rosberg-Hamilton power struggle, Mercedes’ current pairing gets along with each other. The team claims both drivers are treated equally but that doesn’t necessarily translate on to the race track. The Brackley outfit has ordered the Finn to move aside for his teammate on multiple instances.

On such occasions, Wolff must ensure his driver isn’t demoralized and have the sensitivity to explain difficult scenarios. Hampering Bottas’s confidence would be disastrous for the team.

Speaking to F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Bottas disclosed how Toto Wolff handles the leadership role.

“He tends to be quite critical to the people he cares and very honest”

“He’s not afraid of saying if he thinks I could’ve done better or I need to do better which I like”

“There’s nothing ever going behind the back and very honest feedback”

Bottas also opened up on the difficult conversion he had with Toto following the Singapore Grand Prix. At last year’s race in Singapore, the team ordered Bottas to slow down to ensure the Finn wouldn’t jump Hamilton after the first round of stops.

“For sure he knows that I didn’t like it and we had good talks and meetings about that”
“We can be straightforward both ways”

Bottas put up a stronger fight in 2019 when compared to the previous season. The Finn finished runner up in the Championship and is aiming for a better result in 2020.