© Sulay Kelly for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff attended the British Grand Prix Friday Press Conference. Here is the full transcript.
Q: Alright, Zak, thank you. I’m sure we’ll have more questions for you in a minute. Toto, can I bring you in on this? Zak has just referred to the battle between Mercedes and Red Bull in the past. What was your take on what happened last Sunday between Max and Lando?
Toto WOLFF: First of all, the drivers among themselves will know best. Lando and Max, they get on with each other very well. They will have discussed it. They’re not going to trash each other in the media, but talk it through, and all the good guys will have a judgment on that, and we’ll see what it means. I think that’s number one. And number two is there’s a set of regulations. And those regulations give the boundaries to the drivers, what’s on, what’s not. It’s the same with track limits. You’re either penalised or not. And in the same way, the way you race. And I think with the regulations maybe a little bit vague, or interpretations different from time to time, it’s clear that the really good ones are going to push this as much as they can. And then we could end up in similar situations. It’s not only among these two. I mean, we’ve seen it between the Alpines, et cetera, et cetera. So I agree with Zak on the regulations tell us what’s on and what’s off, number one. Number two. Yeah, I tend to agree with Zak, it’s always amusing to see just one-dimensional comments of team principals where you think, let’s be a little bit objective at least.
Q: Toto, do you think Max has changed his defensive driving tactics since he was battling with Lewis those years ago?
TW: No, I think this is the way he drives. That’s what I’ve seen in Formula 1 since he’s come. And I don’t want to be judgmental on that. I think you drive as much as you’re being let off. And I’m not saying it’s good or bad. But on a starting line, you go as much forward as you can without being penalised. On the track limits, you maximise the width that you can take. We, on technical regulations, we are maximising every area. So, the drivers will maximize every area from what’s on and what’s not. And that is as simple as it is. And that is on, there was a 10-second penalty. Maybe that’s what. what the consequence is, but that’s okay.
Q: And of course, George was the beneficiary of what happened between Max and Lando. Do you think you can challenge for the win this weekend at Silverstone?
TW: I think Lando and Max are probably, at the moment, a little bit ahead of everybody else. And that’s not only on a qualifying lap that can be very, very close – although it wasn’t in Austria because it’s a minute lap time and they were still a few tenths quicker – but on race pace, these two seem to still be a step ahead. But we are really pushing it hard to bring more tools and toys onto the car. So, we are going quicker and that is a relentless push from all of the engineering and operations in Brackley and in Brixworth to be able to catch up. And at the moment I think George winning the race has probably maximised it and we were 15 seconds off before the crash, considering they were fighting a bit, so probably a little bit more. That is two, two and a bit tenths per lap. And this is where I would judge the gap is. And as long as we are not able to close that gap, we are not going to fight these two.
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Q: Alright, well, best of luck to you. And James, bringing it on to you now. Toto said this week that Carlos Sainz is now in his sights again for a seat at Mercedes next year. So the battle to sign Carlos remains fierce. How long are you prepared to wait for him?
James VOWLES: I mean, I’ll go back to, he’s a world class driver. So the decision isn’t imminent. It’s not today that we need to make it. But what I’ve said all along is actually the timeline is less important to me. What’s more important is that whatever decision we come to or the driver comes to, it’s about forging a long-term relationship with each other – i.e. both see the journey we’re on and want that to be a part of their lives. I’m fairly sure you’ll see all this cleared up before we get to September. That’s the normal time. If you look at a normal routine, we’re actually just now going back into what is a normal schedule where August is spent doing contracts. But I’m pretty sure you’ll find it all cemented by then.
Q: And do you have a plan B ready to go? should Carlos choose to go elsewhere?
JV: Fundamentally, yes. Simple answer to it.
TW: James has always a plan B and C, by the sheer nature of his previous job and engineering mind.
JV: I think we’re on about Y or Z by now, just to be clear. But no, there’s a lot of moving parts to it. More than the world will see, but it will all make sense, I think, once it fans out.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm –The Race) Toto, it’s a bit of an open secret in the paddock that Renault is exploring or at least wants to explore a Mercedes customer engine deal for the new regs. I just wondered where you’re at with that, what talks have taken place, how long it would take to resolve?
TW: You know, I think that’s a complicated situation because we like the thought of, you know, replacing Aston Martin with another team because of the sheer learning you’re doing. I think we’re set up as an organisation that the more power units, the better it is in terms of accelerating some of the developments or the reliability. So this is where it is. I think it didn’t go beyond the point of exchanging opinions or having like, you know, exploratory discussions. I think Alpine would take a decision, do they want to continue with their Formula 1 engine programme or not? And only when they have taken that strategic decision, we would dive into our agreements. But we’re open-minded, and that’s what we have told them.
Q: Toto, are you expecting an answer before the summer break?
TW: No, that’s far too complicated and long-lasting, impactful decision for Alpine to make.
Q: (Thomas Maher – PlanetF1.com) A lot of the drivers yesterday were not supportive, but they were saying that the driving from Max last week wasn’t actually all that bad. They were kind of saying that the way Max was driving last week wasn’t actually all that bad, he didn’t actually kind of progress beyond what he should have done in his battle with Lando. But I’m just wondering what aspects and what facets of Max’s driving are you keen to see cleaned up going forward?
Zak BROWN: I don’t think it would be fair to characterise it as Max’s driving. I think, as Toto mentioned, you see battles all throughout the field. And so I think we just need regulations that are black and white and enforced accordingly. So I don’t think it would be fair to say Max is driving. I think all these drivers drive at the absolute limit as they should. But then you have a set of regulations. I think if you look at Anthony Davidson’s review on Sky Sports, a driver, as he mentioned, who has driven the track himself and driven Formula 1 cars. I thought he did a nice job of laying out what exactly was going on there. So I think it’s not about cleaning up the drivers, it’s about enforcing and having much clearer regulations on a consistent basis, whatever those may be. But I think these are the 20 best drivers in the world, so they can deal with about anything.
TW: Don’t expect them trashing each other here, sitting on the sofa. I have lots of bad things to say about Zak, but I would never do it even if he sits next to me.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) I’ve got a question for you. I think the suggestion from you a few weeks back was that Carlos Sainz wasn’t an option. You said that you were going to look at youth for the future. What has changed in the past few weeks? And to James’s point about burning up a driver too quickly, are there any concerns about Kimi Antonelli? Obviously, F2 this season has been a bit tricky, but I understand the private test has been very, very good in Formula 1.
TW: Yeah, the season has been a bit tricky because overall the two have not been on a level and I think the team recognises that. That wasn’t great, but last weekend was pretty good. The pace was there, there were mistakes in getaways, so that’s something a rookie needs to learn, that’s clear. But he has a lot of pressure. He’s being talked a lot about. His junior formula and go-karting track record is one of a kind. And that’s clear that the pressure ramps up. But it’s like his father says, a champion needs to be thrown in the cold water and needs to swim. So they are very clear about that. But the driver market at the moment is quite a dynamic, interesting thing. I think because some of the drivers have more options and some of the teams have more options. So it’s interesting. And you know, it’s like Bernie said: ‘last week I had an opinion, this week I have a different one’.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Another question to Toto, please. You just spoke about Kimi Antonelli and the pressure that he’s under. I just wondered, can you share anything about how he’s coping with that pressure? It’s been a rapid career progression to this point. How is he coping with lots of people he’s never met speaking his name and talking about him?
TW: What I like in terms of his attitude, generally his family, who has been always close to him, is the objective assessment of a situation, and that is good or not good enough. And I don’t think that the pressure harms at all the way he performs in the car and how he drives. You can clearly see it’s a good benchmarking with Ollie Bearman. They are pretty close. Ollie had an obviously very good race in Austria and Kimi on the Sunday, had a clutch release issue in the second race. So you’ve got to swim. That’s clear. It was a rapid career progression. He’s 17. Hasn’t got even a driving license for a road car. And the best ones will be able to cope with that, with the amount of scrutiny and the pressure, and it’s going to get bigger.
Source: FIA.com
