How did Mercedes get back to the front? Wolff takes pride in an approach Ferrari lacked for years

The modern ground-effect era did not go at all well for Mercedes. But the German team persevered, even when it stood alone against many… According to team principal Toto Wolff, the winning philosophy from its previous period of dominance ultimately prevailed: unlike Ferrari, Mercedes does not let heads roll at the first sign of trouble.

Toto Wolff has joined Formula 1’s all-time greats and could soon become the most successful team principal in history. Having secured this year’s drivers’ and constructors’ titles, he now has 17 championship triumphs to his name, putting him joint top alongside legends Enzo Ferrari and Ron Dennis. He has moved ahead of Frank Williams, who won 16 titles.

The championship celebrations began straight after the race on the podium, where Toto Wolff danced with the whole team. Back in the garage, his colleagues surprised him with a soaking in isotonic drink, and the celebrations certainly did not end there. The team principal revealed that the flight back to Europe could be very interesting.

“In terms of the party, I don’t know yet,” said Toto Wolff after Sunday’s race. “Now it’s another flight, another overnight flight. George is going to be on that overnight flight, so maybe we’ll have a drink, a constructor’s drink.”

The Vienna-born team boss could not resist a joke at Lewis Hamilton’s expense. “We’re going to take Lewis also, so we’ll see, maybe he needs one for the bed! And then we figure out what we do in party terms in coming back to the UK.”

Kimi Antonelli headed to Bologna, where he plans to spend time with family and friends. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, went home to Monaco, with the chance to reflect on what might have been had he stayed at Mercedes. Ferrari had fallen short once again.

Toto Wolff took an indirect dig at the Scuderia during his championship-winning interview in Sao Paulo. “We have taken a few years to be back at the top spot. Not many teams have been able to come back from such a situation.” Ferrari is the only top team not to have won a title in recent years…

A stable environment and a team unafraid to make mistakes

What is Mercedes’ secret? According to Wolff, it is a philosophy of not sacking people, even in the midst of a difficult spell. You have to trust your people, give them room to be creative and take the same approach with new recruits.

“Stability is certainly a factor, but we have also many people that have joined us recently. I think what I would like to choose as a word is safety. We are not a hire-and-fire organisation,” he said, identifying the key difference between Mercedes and Ferrari.

That only applies to Ferrari before Frédéric Vasseur’s arrival, however. The current team principal is trying to change the environment at Maranello, but turning such a big ship around cannot be done in a year or two. Vasseur has been in charge at Maranello for four years now and still has areas to improve.

Mercedes’ management had countless reasons to carry out a major clear-out during the previous era. The team’s performance fluctuated wildly, and even after four years it had been unable to resolve the car’s flaws, often failing even to identify them.

“We provide a culture and an environment where you can thrive, where you’re allowed to make mistakes, where you can speak up,” said the Viennese billionaire. “and over the long term, I believe if you want to be successful, not over a period of a few years, but over many decades, this is what you need to be able to kind of ingrain in the team.”

The Austrian also acknowledged how difficult the previous four seasons had been for Mercedes, particularly when the team was struggling to identify the causes of its performance problems.

“But it felt not good, and the resilience of the team, the people that held together in those tough times, is a factor,” he explained, outlining how Mercedes had managed to return to the top. “It feels really good sealing those two titles. Not many sports teams have done that after a consecutive run of championships, then a difficult spell, and then coming back.”

“So I’m really proud that we are part of this very small group of teams that have done that in all sports,” he concluded.