Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff absent at Azerbaijan Grand Prix as replacement steps up

An image of Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff during an FIA press conference — Photo: © IMAGO

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff absent at Azerbaijan Grand Prix as replacement steps up

Wolff won't be in Baku

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Friday 25 September 2026 13:55

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Mercedes F1 team principal and CEO Toto Wolff will not be in attendance at this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Mercedes enter the race in Azerbaijan with momentum well and truly on their side, topping both the drivers' and constructors' championships and having won the last two grands prix in Italy and Spain.

The Silver Arrows look as though they could be on for three consecutive grand prix victories this weekend too, with George Russell having topped the timesheets in FP1 and FP2 in Baku on Friday before finishing just shy of Max Verstappen in FP3 (+0.0.99s).

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All eyes will now be on qualifying this afternoon, but Wolff will not be trackside to see whether or not Russell or Antonelli take pole, nor will he be in attendance on Saturday for grand prix action.

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Toto Wolff set to miss Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Wolff no longer attends every single race. Earlier this season, for example, he was absent from the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka and followed the race remotely.

Now, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be the second event of the year that Wolff will not be trackside, with deputy team principal Bradley Lord set to step up in his absence.

GPFans understands that Wolff missing the event is purely down to the very busy F1 calendar and the fact that he no longer attends every grand prix.

Who is Bradley Lord?

Bradley Lord was made Mercedes' deputy team principal in 2026

Bradley Lord is Mercedes' deputy team principal and will be leading the team in Baku this weekend.

Having previously worked as a press officer and head of communications at Renault, Lord joined Mercedes as a communications manager in 2013 after two years in the same role at Daimler.

Since then, Lord has gone on to gain several promotions, holding roles such as strategic communications director and team representative and chief communications officer, among others.

The latter was a position he held for just shy of three years before his promotion to deputy team principal back in March.