Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff explains how he copes with the COVID-19 crisis as a leader and as a family man.
Toto and his wife Susie gave an interview to Mercedes-Benz where they talk about leadership, the COVID-19 crisis and their family life. In the interview Wolff was asked how he copes with the coronavirus crisis as a team leader.
“COVID-19 is a global challenge and of course affects us as much as any other organisation around the globe,” said the Austrian.
“Nobody saw it coming. If people had been told six months ago that we would be in a two-month lockdown with the industry being almost fully shut down – they wouldn’t have believed it.
“To cope with it, we have to accept the new norm and adapt to it. It’s not about the survival of the strongest but of the most adaptable.
“It’s not easy to keep everybody energised and motivated because the circumstances we now face not only impact our work but our personal life.
“I consider myself very lucky to have a superb team that has kept communicating and continues being honest and transparent about what the top management is thinking these days. I think our people appreciate that.
However, as Wolff said, the situation affects his family life too.
“We tried to see the positives and spend a lot of time with the children,” explains Wolff.
“I have been able to spend time with our three-year-old son whom I don’t get to see very often once the Formula One calendar kicks off.
“And Susie and I have spent a lot more time together. For the last couple of years, we’ve always been on the road – Susie with Formula E and me with Formula One. But now, we have realised that we have spent five months together – split only by two small gaps.
“For five months, we’ve been together every single day and our relationship is stronger than ever.”