Toto Wolff wanted to put Fernando Alonso in his place when he was questioned by the Asturian in the last interview he has granted. The CEO of Mercedes does not like to be said that Alonso, or any other driver, would be champion with Lewis Hamilton’s car, which is why he throws a question into the air: why are they not in that car? As far as Spanish is concerned, Toto Wolff admits that it is disappointing that he does not have more than two titles to his name, but that ” it is about knowing that you are part of a solar system, you are not the sun .”
The CEO of Mercedes began his interview in the Daily Mail by referring to the criticism that Hamilton is receiving: “I think that only when he retires will people understand the magnitude of his achievements . People who say he could be champion with Lewis’s car… Well, why aren’t they in Lewis’s car? Why did he switch from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013? It was a brave move . There are several examples, even now, of people who went before for the money than for the car ”.
Questioned directly by Fernando Alonso , Toto Wolff pointed out: “He is, without a doubt, one of the best drivers who have raced in Formula 1 . From history. It is disappointing for the sport that he has nothing more than two titles under his belt . But you should know that you are part of the solar system, not the sun. “
“ Some pilots are badly advised . They see themselves in the media spotlight and begin to believe that they are the sun . And they are not. None of us are. We are all satellites. We are the planets that are turning ”, he added in this regard.
Why didn’t Alonso sign for Mercedes?
Although Fernando Alonso has been linked to Mercedes, he was never an option for the team after the arrival of Lewis Hamilton to the team. This is how Toto Wolff explained it in his day: “ If I put Mercedes aside, of course I would like to see Fernando Alonso in that car , and for the whole battle of 2007 to happen again. But from a team perspective that’s something that would never have worked . There is a story, in that year something particularly painful happened for Mercedes, for a part of Mercedes then ”.
“ Even though people mature and change, it would have been an exciting driver couple. Maybe for us it was too exciting ”, added the CEO of Mercedes.
Fernando Alonso, for his part, said about the time he was away from Formula 1: ” I had no conversations with Mercedes, there were some with Red Bull .”
Toto Wolff and intelligence in Formula 1
In his interview, the Austrian has also referred to a conversation he had with Niki Lauda in which he confessed that he had competed against rivals who were not very savvy. “ When you talk to Max or Lewis, when you talk to Sebastian Vettel, you are surprised at how hooked they are . They are not Oxford University graduates, but they are smart . There are no options to live a life like James Hunt right now. People would be surprised at how smart Hamilton is at times, ”said Toto Wolff.
Finally, the CEO of Mercedes does not rule out that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen may touch in the last race. “Twice in the past we witnessed such a dynamic between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, and also between Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve. I will never give one of my riders an order to touch another to eliminate him … but if the last race is reached with this tension, with the title at stake, I cannot exclude that they touch . It is not a thing that can be controlled. Just look at what happened at Monza: Max knew that Lewis was faster and would overtake him, so the best way to avoid it was a touch, “concluded Toto Wolff.
