Having joined F1 as a businessman, no one could have predicted the impact Toto Wolff would have on Mercedes. Under him, the Silver Arrows enjoyed an unprecedented level of domination in the sport. Having won eight straight world championships, Mercedes accomplished a feat that had never been achieved before. But before he became Mercedes’ team principal, Wolff was a racing driver and not a very successful one. While racing, Wolff once broke his vertebra in a crash involving a $575,000 Porsche while pushing all the limits.
Lacking the basic background of go-karting, Wolff knew he wouldn’t be racing’s next big thing. Apart from racing, he enjoyed a successful career in private equity for a decade, which led to him investing in the world of motorsports.
But before finally taking off the Nomex gloves, Wolff gave racing one final go before calling it quits. He set his sights on unraveling whether or not he could have made it as a race car driver whilst driving at the Nürburgring in a Porsche 911 RSR, which took a near-fatal turn.
Toto Wolff took a huge risk in his bid to figure out if he could have become a pro driver
On April 15th, 2009, racing car driver Toto Wolff broke the lap record at the Nürburgring by 5 seconds. While this would have been enough for others, Wolff decided to push his blue 911 RSR even further. And in doing so, he realized his tires were starting to go. But that didn’t stop him.
“This is where I broke my rule to take the calculated risk.” Wolff added he went for “All the power on. All the funky stuff.”
The Porsche’s right tire blew on a section called ‘Foxhole Compression.’ This led to the car hitting the steel guardrail at a speed of about 179mph before rolling down the track for a few hundred meters. Surprisingly, Wolff turned off the car’s ignition, undid his harness, removed the steering wheel, and climbed out of the car. Upon getting out, he stretched his back, took off his gloves, hopped over the guardrail, before finally passing out.
Upon regaining consciousness, Wolff came to know he got a major concussion and broke his vertebra. It also damaged his olfactory senses, leading to no sense of taste or smell for the next six months.
However, the accident did not result in only negative outcomes for the Mercedes boss. During those days, Susie Wolff was a Mercedes driver in the touring car championships. Upon learning about the crash, the team urged Susie, who had only seen Wolff once or twice before, to call him on their behalf and wish him well.
Beginning of Toto and Susie Wolff’s fairytale romance
The call, which was supposed to last for a maximum of ten minutes, ended up lasting for an hour. During a conversation with Damon Hill, Toto Wolff shared that when he met Susie for the first time, he said to himself he needed to go for her as she was the only one who could understand him.
Toto and Susie Wolff outside of No. 10 Downing Street today.
Suits them 😎 pic.twitter.com/kbaQdrvSCS
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 4, 2023
During the time of the crash, Wolff and his first wife had separated. The couple had two children together. In 2011, Toto married Susie, and in 2017, they were blessed with a son.
Today, Toto and Susie Wolff stand as the most iconic power couple in F1. While the husband acts as the team principal for Mercedes, the wife serves as the current managing director of F1 Academy.
