Mercedes will be operating without Toto Wolff’s presence in Japan, with the team boss set to miss his first race of the season.
Toto Wolff won’t be in attendance at the Japanese Grand Prix on the first weekend in April, with the Mercedes team boss electing to sit out the race.
Toto Wolff to miss Japanese Grand Prix
Wolff is no stranger to missing occasional Grands Prix and sat out last year’s Japanese and Qatar rounds as he recovered from knee surgery.
The Austrian will not be in attendance at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix on April 7th, but the decision to not attend was made prior to the start of the season as he decided upon his seasonal schedule, and is not linked to the team’s scoreless performance in Australia.
As has become the norm when Wolff isn’t on the ground at a race weekend, he will be connected remotely to the team from his home in Monaco, and his duties will be divided between senior members who are in attendance at the race track.
Following the departure of James Vowles to Williams at the conclusion of 2022, the point of call for Wolff’s effective on-site replacement was driver development director Jerome D’Ambrosio – but the Belgian is set to leave Mercedes at the conclusion of this season as he made a decision over winter to return home.
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Wolff has previously made it clear that he intends to scale down his in-person involvement at the race track over the coming years.
“The clear aim is to build a structure for the future and that is my sheer responsibility for the team,” Wolff told PA in 2023.
“A stone could fall on my head and how does it look afterwards? That is why I would like to see myself in a few years maybe not going to 24 races, and just to 15.
“But that is many years away. I see myself in this role for a long time. I cannot imagine doing something else.”
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
