Toto Wolff leadership masterclass revealed in internal Mercedes email

Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord has given a peek behind the curtain at the Silver Arrows, revealing an email sent around the team by boss Toto Wolff this week.

Wolff's lengthy email came in the wake of Kimi Antonelli becoming the youngest ever F1 drivers' champion on Sunday in Mexico, the eventual result of the bold decision to replace seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton with an untested teenager.

In the message to the team, the Austrian supremo began by saying that he feels he has been given 'far too much credit' for a 'story that belongs to so many people', going on to thank a number of members of the Mercedes team at length – including Lord.

A number of people were namechecked in the email, including Antonelli's parents, the team's technical director James Allison, race engineer Pete Bonnington, and comms chief Clare Robertson.

He also singled out George Russell, insisting that despite the Brit's 'frustrating' year, the team wouldn't have felt comfortable taking the risk inherent in hiring Antonelli if they hadn't completely trusted in Russell's experience and leadership.

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Lord: Mercedes culture starts from the very top

The whole email is screenshotted and attached to a post Lord made on LinkedIn on Wednesday, in which he admitted that sharing emails like Wolff's is 'not the done thing' at Mercedes, but that he felt the occasion demanded it.

"I’m no frequent LinkedIn poster," Lord wrote, "but from time to time, something comes along that shows exactly why we are so lucky to work at Mercedes. Sharing internal emails is not the done thing at our place, so I hope I’ll be forgiven by the IT and HR powers-that-be for taking the initiative on this occasion...

"This morning, whether in Brackley, Brixworth or Brazil, each one of us woke up to this email from the boss. The reason for sharing is to show you what we mean when we say the culture of our team starts from the top, with Toto.

"He combines a deep-seated, passionate refusal to lose with profound belief in, and compassion for, the team and individuals around him. We are all very fortunate to head into competition, week in and week out, with a leader like him. Even if we don’t like to tell him that to his face too often...

"(I’ve had quite a few internal enquiries, too, asking how much of a hand I or the comms team had in writing this. And I’m proud to say - none at all!)"

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