Toto Wolff’s Qatar Grand Prix absence explained as Mercedes replacement picked
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff will be absent for the second weekend in a row at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Silver Arrows may miss the expertise of the Austrian, who has been team principal of the Formula One team for a decade.
Wolff missed the Japanese Grand Prix a fortnight ago, with Mercedes producing an underwhelming performance. Despite a mini-revival in the races prior, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fifth and seventh at Suzuka, respectively.
The 51-year-old will now be a big miss in Qatar this weekend. Wolff will be absent for the Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit.
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Why is Toto Wolff absent?
Wolff has undergone surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. The procedure, which took place on the Wednesday after the Singapore Grand Prix, is widely reported to have involved repairing damage in his left knee.
It is the same knee that Wolff severely injured falling from an exercise ball while training with his wife in 2015.
The surgery took place in Wolff’s native Austria and he has since been told to rest at home. But that has apparently not prevented him from having a big say on how Mercedes will tackle the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Mercedes chief has been in the wars over the past few months. He not only sustained a horrible ACL injury, but he also suffered an issue with his arm during a cycling accident during the summer break.
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Who will replace Toto Wolff?
Wolff revealed in August that should he miss any events, Jerome D’Ambrosio will stand in. The 37-year-old is the Driver Development Director at Mercedes.
At the Japanese Grand Prix, Bradley Lord stepped up to work alongside D’Ambrosio. However, Lewis Hamilton let slip that Wolff was actually having little trouble making instructions himself, joining every team meeting via video link.
“Toto’s in every meeting. Even though he’s not here in person… he’s a part of every single meeting. He will dial into the meeting tomorrow morning, he will be in the meeting in the afternoon.
“He’s on the comms just like the guys back at the factory are for strategy. He’s still fully 100% fully part of it, he’s just not physically there in the country. He speaks in all of those meetings just as he does when he’s here.”
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