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Mercedes criticism on Red Bull and Ferrari? "Felt need to communicate over media"
- GPblog.com
In recent months there has been a lot of discussion between the teams in Formula 1 about further lowering the budget ceiling and restricting the use of the wind tunnel. While Ferrari and Red Bull Racing often expressed their views through the media, world champion Mercedes remained in the background. That has been a conscious choice, Toto Wolff says.
"I've been in the sport since 2009 with Williams and I've never seen so much opportunism and manipulation", says Wolff in an interview with ESPN. The Austrian has seen things happen that he initially didn't think were possible. "There are sides of the sport that I question and, at times, the sport itself became background music and not the main act anymore."
The 48-year-old chief believes there hasn't been as much politics in the pinnacle of motorsport in the last decade as there has been in the last six months. "I've learned a lot about various people and, as much as I know that this is a highly political environment and everybody tries to gain a benefit," observes Wolff, after which he continues his story: "I would say that these past six months were the most political times in Formula One that I have been part of."
Wolff relieved that focus can be on racing again
Some teams also called in the media. "You could clearly see that there were people that felt the need to communicate over the media. But at the end, you know, all that is irrelevant. Why we love the sport is because it all comes down to performance. Once the flag drops, the bullshit stops. And the bullshit is going to stop soon and then all these interviews and all these opinions become irrelevant," concludes Wolff.