Mercedes boss Toto Wolff frustrated by F1's "opportunism and manipulation"

Toto Wolff

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Wolff frustrated by Formula 1's "opportunism and manipulation"

Wolff feels F1 has never been more political than during lockdown

Sam Hall

Thursday 21 May 2020 12:35 Updated: 12:50

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has heavily criticised the current level of self-interest within the Formula 1 paddock.

The lockdown period has seen the introduction of a reduced cost cap for 2021, new aerodynamic regulations have been pushed back by a year to 2022, while several smaller changes have also been made to the sport.

FIA president Jean Todt said the lockdown was a time of opportunity for F1.

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Wolff, though, believes other teams are using the period to bolster their own agendas at a time when F1 requires everyone involved to be pulling in the same direction.

"I've been in the sport since 2009 with Williams and I've never seen so much opportunism and manipulation," Wolff told ESPN.

"There are sides of the sport that I question and, at times, the sport itself became background music and not the main act anymore.

"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, I would say that these past six months were the most political times in Formula One that I have been part of."

As is the case with fans of F1, Wolff is looking forward to getting back to the track, if for no other reason than to stop all the war of words.

Wolff added: "First of all, in a sense, it [the lockdown] was good because I didn't need to interact with certain people.

"On the other side, 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."

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