Between 2014 and 2021, Mercedes was the most dominant team in Formula 1. They won eight consecutive constructors’ world championships, which is no ordinary feat. Plus, with Toto Wolff leading the team off the track and Lewis Hamilton leading them on the track, they were virtually unstoppable.
Today we say goodbye to Niki Lauda.
Niki will always be remembered as an @F1 icon and as the Chairman of our team.
But we’ll also remember Niki Lauda the man. This is the story of our Niki. Our team-mate. Our dear friend.
Niki, we miss you ❤https://t.co/v1S8sUWGxp
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 29, 2019
Come 2023, however, the entire aura of Mercedes seems to have disappeared. The regulation changes of 2022 hit them hard, and they haven’t recovered from them this year too. According to Business F1, on-track performances aren’t the only thing that is affecting the morale at Mercedes. Multiple employees working at their headquarters have spoken about how their morale keeps getting worse.
Wolff is the face of Mercedes’ team alongside Hamilton. However, many believe that the person who was actually responsible for driving the Silver Arrows to success was Niki Lauda. Lauda, a three-time world champion, was the pivotal figure behind helping Mercedes find its feet in F1 and kickstart their era of dominance. After he passed away in 2019, Wolff became the sole of the outfit, and many have claimed, that is where their downfall started.
Toto Wolff liked to live in the past unlike Lauda
As reported by Business F1, employees used to look up to Lauda for a number of reasons. For starters, the former Ferrari driver never showed signs of panic and was fairly calm while dealing with any adversity. Someone also revealed that Lauda was a very pragmatic individual, who thought about the future, unlike Wolff.
“Toto was the frontman, but Niki was the thinker,” said a Mercedes employee. “He lived in the future. Toto likes to live in the past.”
Vintage Niki Lauda 👊 pic.twitter.com/mBeSXbV8z8
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 24, 2018
The people working in Mercedes’ factory feel that Wolff is too proud of the team’s achievements during the start of the turbo-hybrid era. As a result, he doesn’t think about the future as much, which hampers the team’s potential growth.
On top of that, Lauda knew how to keep the team spirit up, which is something that has been lacking in Brackley since the Austrian’s passing away. There used to be no public outbursts or histrionics, as Lauda used to take care of all those things behind the scenes.
Pathetic working environment in Mercedes
It is a well known fact that Lauda was the reason behind Hamilton joining Mercedes. The Silver Arrows were not as strong as McLaren when Lauda convinced the Stevenage-born driver to move to the German team. Nevertheless, it did turn out to be a fruitful signing, as the two parties went on to create history together.
With Hamilton struggling to drive the W14 in 2023, the employees can’t help but think about how Lauda would have handled the situation. One worker recalls that if Hamilton would underdeliver, Lauda would straight up ask him why he’s not performing despite being paid so much! This was how close Hamilton was to Lauda, and trusted him, as the former’s words would always motivate him to work harder and push himself.
“He is losing control,” another employee said about Wolff’s grip on the team morale.
Currently, the atmosphere at Mercedes’ base is described as flat and a lot of it is Toto Wolff’s fault. Under Wolff, the morale is completely down, which could be a reason behind them underperforming on track too.
