'Didn't feel like an F1 team' - Wolff's disagreement on first day at Mercedes

The Austrian has been one of the fundamental pillars behind Mercedes’ recent success in F1, spearheading the German manufacturer’s total domination of the sport between 2014 and 2020. 

But Wolff was initially unimpressed when he first arrived at Mercedes’ Brackley headquarters a decade ago for a meeting with revered F1 team principal Ross Brawn.

"When I stepped in here for the first time I was waiting to meet Ross Brawn, who I have great admiration for as an engineer,” Wolff told Nasser Hussain as part of a new Sky Sports documentary. 

"Whilst I was waiting it didn't feel like a Formula 1 reception. There was an old Daily Mail on the table and an old coffee cup with dry coffee inside. When I went to the meeting I said it didn't feel like a Formula 1 team.

"The answer I got was that the Daily Mail or the old coffee cup doesn't make the car faster, the engineering does. 

“I disagreed because it shows whether you have attention to detail, whether you are a perfectionist or you seek excellence, and that starts with cleanliness and an immaculate environment, particularly in Formula 1.”

Under Wolff’s leadership, Mercedes claimed seven consecutive drivers’ world titles from 2014 to 2020 and eight consecutive constructors’ crowns from 2014 to 2021. 

Mercedes have endured a difficult spell since a major rule shake-up in 2022 and have only managed one victory over the last year and a half. 

Wolff is hoping that a fundamental change in car design will help Mercedes peg the gap to current pace setters Red Bull and return the Silver Arrows back to the front in F1.