With F1 heading to Las Vegas this week, Toto Wolff has banned all his team members from going to the casinos for the entire week. Popularly known as Sin City, Las Vegas houses over 120 casinos and gaming established, attracting heavy crowds all year round.
As F1 becomes the city’s latest guests, the attraction will be higher than ever, and all the team members might be looking for some enjoyment. However, the members of the Mercedes crew won’t be able to join in because of a strict policy laid down by Wolff, as reported by Motorsport.com.
“I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but we will do everything possible to make sure that everyone in the team stays away from the casinos. I don’t bet and I’ll make sure no one else bets either!”
With the ban in place, Wolff praised F1 and its authorities for navigating through the mammoth task of turning the famous Las Vegas Strip into a street circuit for racing. The Austrian compared the task to climbing Mount Everest and lauded the Liberty Media Group for its efforts in organizing the race. However, he added it will be a tough time for him and his team in Vegas as it will be his first time visiting the city.
As such, Wolff is concerned about the logistics, the most important one being how they will travel to the track from the hotel and make their way back. Hence, Wolff worries that it might be easy for the employees to opt for a quick visit to a casino, which forced him to impose a ban.
A treacherous path ahead for Mercedes and Toto Wolff
The Sao Paulo GP was one of the worst race weekends in Mercedes’ recent history, as the W14 suffered terribly throughout. Excessive tire wear and degradation meant that the car had almost no pace on the straights, making it easier for others to overtake. Having started the race in P5, Lewis Hamilton had to settle for P8 and see the hopes of him finishing P2 in the driver’s standings dwindle.
With the onset of the Las Vegas GP, the Brackley-based team is unsure of what the race will look like for them. Having not fully understood the reason behind the slump in Brazil, Mercedes is heading into the penultimate race of the season with several uncertainties. Given the low temperature in the city and the subsequently low track temperatures, getting the best out of an unreliable car becomes an even bigger task.
With the softest selection of tires at each team’s expense, it becomes an even bigger task to navigate through the track quickly. Riccardo Musconi, Mercedes’ Head of Trackside Performance says his team has, “tried to gather as much information as I am sure every other team has tried to.” He also admitted that due to it being the inaugural race, no team has access to any previous data and will venture into the unknown together.
