One of the most recognizable faces in the F1 paddock, Toto Wolff, skipped the Japanese GP weekend for the third year in a row. And there have been different reasons for the Mercedes boss’ absence each time, with one rather bizarre yet practical common factor also at play.
Suzuka hosts one of the most iconic races on the calendar. The track has a rich history and has witnessed some of F1’s tightly contested Grands Prix. Many drivers, including four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and current challenger Lando Norris, have called the track immensely fun to drive.
The general atmosphere in and around the race weekend is quite enjoyed by the drivers and the bandwagon, too. However, Wolff has been missing the fun in recent years. The Austrian first missed the Suzuka race in 2023 since he was recovering from a knee surgery.
He sat out the 2024 edition as well. Ahead of the Japanese GP, it was revealed that Wolff would be absent once again. Jerome d’Ambrosio and Bradley Lord stepped in to cover for him. Given that he prefers to be close to the action, it is also intriguing that Wolff has been giving Japan a miss.
Wolff‘s height, it turns out, has been a major issue for him in Japan. At 6’5″, he is the tallest team principal in the paddock. Maybe even the tallest person in the traveling racing circus.
And journalist Kym Illman feels that has led to him avoiding traveling to Japan, a country where things are built to suit people of shorter stature.
“I’ve had numerous cuts on my head walking through doors,” the veteran F1 photographer said about the challenge he faces in Japan. “And Toto is taller than me, so that is one part of the reason why he’s not here.”
In Japan, the average height for men is 5’7″. Things like doors, chairs, tables, and beds are built accordingly. So, for someone with Wolff’s build, it would be difficult to adjust, even if it is for just four days. Besides, as Illman also acknowledged, team principals don’t need to attend every race on the calendar.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff will miss the Japanese Grand Prix. pic.twitter.com/uh8pk5rq3f
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) March 29, 2025
With 24 races on a hectic calendar, Wolff would also want to take some time off for himself. Those who work in F1 spend nearly three-fourths of the year at it without a break. Taking his health (and height) into consideration, Wolff likely felt that skipping Japan made sense.
Height has always been a problem for Wolff
Before getting into the world of business, banking, and eventually motorsports management, Wolff started out as a racing driver. But in his own admission, he was too slow. And, lack of talent wasn’t the reason.
The Mercedes boss revealed he was too tall to fit into the car.
“Being a racing driver is all about fitting in the car,” he told Forbes in an interview two years ago. “Since I have grown pretty tall in my 20s, it wouldn’t have been anywhere easy to fit in a Formula 1 car because they are very small.”
F1 cockpits are small, which is why drivers are required to be lean. And although there’s no official height limit in any form of racing, for someone as tall as Wolff, fitting into that space would be both uncomfortable and far from ideal to extract the the best out of the car.
Had Wolff been shorter, he might have made a name for himself in motorsport as a racer. Who knows? He could have been a Red Bull star since he drove for the team in the FIA GT Championship.
But history had other plans. The Austrian went on to lead a team in F1 that would become Red Bull’s biggest rival in every sense. And thanks to his management skills, Mercedes became an eight-time world championship-winning team.
Wolff’s absence was perhaps felt too. Mercedes, who had third-place finishes at Australia and Japan through George Russell, finished out of the podium for the first time this season. Russell finished P5 while Kimi Antonelli ended his race in 6th spot.
