After dominating Formula 1 between 2014 and 2021, Mercedes entered a slump with the onset of last season’s regulation changes. Now, to see the Silver Arrows back on top and Lewis Hamilton grab the much coveted eighth world championship, team boss Toto Wolff has made a significant change to his lifestyle.
Following the end of the 2021 season, new regulations kicked in which drastically changed the cars. Mercedes became severely affected by this. They are no longer the dominant team in the sport and are struggling to hold on to the ‘second-best’ tag.
Once a top team, Mercedes currently finds themselves in the midfield, battling for podium places behind the Red Bull drivers. The German team is now back in P2 in the Constructors’ championship and they made quite some improvements off late. As the Silver Arrows found performance through engineering, a part of the success can also be directed at their boss for his dedication and discipline.
Toto Wolff introduced discipline and diet in his life to focus on Mercedes’s development
During a recent appearance on Desert Island Discs by the BBC, Wolff revealed how he has made a lifestyle change to focus all his energy on bringing back the glory days. Although he also stated that these are “reducing trivial things.”
“I’m wearing the same clothes, I’m eating the same food,” he said according to a report published by TalkSport. When asked about what he eats, he revealed, “The same dark bread – a pumpernickel with butter and some ham. Small cappuccino – because I take half a cappuccino because I want to have another half an hour later.”
Feeling summer break ready. pic.twitter.com/qLiDRQswPw
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 30, 2023
For dinner, he stated that he eats chicken breast with tomato salad, all day, every day. Furthermore, Toto Wolff also added that he asks his assistant to book the same room for him every year.
Did Wolff’s sacrifice improve Mercedes?
Admittedly, Wolff’s sacrifice has improved the Silver Arrows’ status by quite a margin. Even though it is not directly related to the diet of the 51-year-old, experts believe that he had a huge role to play in helping the team with their development.
They were P3 at this stage last year, and the W13 (last year’s car) was a huge disappointment for the team from Brackley. Even at the start of this year, the Silver Arrows were quite miserable.
P4 for Lewis and P6 for George at the #BelgianGP. Signing off for the summer break with another 21 points. pic.twitter.com/6xzP6yUQ2l
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 30, 2023
However, as the season went on, they made changes to their car, and are currently comfortable in P2, with both Hamilton and George Russell firing.
Furthermore, they have some major upgrades waiting in line that are slated to arrive after the summer break. And with that, they are hoping to finally snatch a win and end Red Bull’s dominance. So far their upgrades have worked well, so they will be hoping to win at least one race before the season ends.