New-dads Wolff, Horner put things into perspective
abu dhabi — Formula One may look glitzy and glamorous on the outside but there’s a lot that goes in to make it a spectacle.
Not least, the drivers, the team principals, the teams, the race engineers, the mechanics, as well as the staff back at the factory who work day and night to make the sport what it is.
It is a tiring job with the drivers as well as the teams on the road for most of the year, traversing different continents and countries to compete in races to make a fist at the Formula One World Championship.
With it being a cutting edge sport, it is about those thin, fine margins that make the difference in the end. It does have it perks and rewards but it is a life of living out of a suitcase.
And with teams working on the development of the new car
My personal highlight was the birth of my son, this goes beyond anything else
Toto Wolff
even before a season has run its course, there is virtually no offseason, so to say.
But there is more to life than just Formula One and team principals, who probably have the most stressful job in the sport, put things in perspective.
Asked to pick their highlight of the Formula One season, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his opposite number at Red Bull Christian Horner said that it was the birth of their child.
They may have eight world titles between them but Wolff and Horner felt that having a baby gave joy like no other.
“My personal highlight was the birth of my son, this goes beyond anything else,” Wolff said at the Yas Marina Circuit, home to the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“My Formula 1 highlight is probably Hungary, which for me was a very difficult race and very difficult decision-making at the end of the race but somehow was important to reconfirm the values of the team,” he added.
Wolff and his wife Susie had their first child, a boy, in April this year and the dad just about made it in time after the Chinese Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Horner, who is married to singer Geri Halliwell, better known as ‘Ginger Spice’ of the pop group ‘Spice Girls,’ had a boy in January this year.
“Well, it’s been a year of births all round, so earlier in the year being able to witness my son born earlier in the year in January,” said Horner.
“Then, probably Max’s overtake on Lewis (Hamilton), because we haven’t seen it much, to win the Malaysian Grand Prix. Yeah, that was a pretty sweet moment,” he added.
For Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, it was the race in Brazil, which was the highlight.
“Hungary, for different reasons. Then I have to say also Monaco. Monaco was a quite good race. But Hungary in my opinion was the best. I have to add also Brazil, because in Brazil, when the championship was gone, I think the team demonstrated character and also they reacted quite well and so, if I have to make a choice, Brazil finally, for the reasons I described before,” said Arrivabene.
james@khaleejtimes.com