TEAM MANAGEMENT OF THE SEASON

TOTO WOLFF, MERCEDES-BENZ

At the Russian GP, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff denied Valtteri Bottas a race victory by imposing team orders and favouring Lewis Hamilton. With five races remaining, many people questioned his decision. After the race, Wolff responded by posing the question: “What would you have done?”

He admitted the previous night he struggled to sleep, wrestling with the morality of team orders and the affect it would have on ‘the show’. But he displayed leadership in his decision and justified his actions. When the sole goal of the whole of the Mercedes organisation – totalling nearly 1,000 employees – is to win the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, then every critical decision must return to that single aim. A clear strategic action is the difference between winning and losing.

It was suggested Wolff’s actions mimicked those unpleasant scenes of Jean Todt in Austria ’02, when he ordered Rubens Barrichello to make way for Michael Schumacher early in the season. His response? To remind us that Jean Todt was arguably the most successful team principal in the history of modern motorsport, with his championship victories in rallying, sportscars and F1.

Is it any surprise, then, that Wolff has now matched Todt’s achievement of five consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championships?