Toto Wolff Told to Be “A Man” Amid Lewis Hamilton & Mercedes F1 Fall From Grace

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton once again face a season of trouble in 2023. While last year, the problem was porpoising, this year the concept is way off. With the team scraping for seconds against their rivals, they have also been put under the microscope because of their fall from the throne.

Recently, Toto Wolff publicly claimed that we would fire his engineers just to make Hamilton happy. To pile on, Hamilton has called out his team for not taking his input while making the car, and the contract drama continues. It’s a big headache for Wolff, who might just be cracking under the pressure.

Toto Wolff gets a brutal reality check

Eddie Jordan has been in Wolff’s shoes. Owning a team back in the day was just as difficult as now. However, Jordan doesn’t sympathize. Instead, it’s a harsh wake-up call for the captain of the Silver Arrows. Praising the drivers, according to him, the fault lies in Wolff.

Annoyed with Wolff pointing fingers at his engineers, Eddie Jordan asks Toto Wolff to introspect. “it’s all been done under his watch so it’s his responsibility. The book starts with him.” 

Doubling down, the criticism gets harsher. “Wolff should face the criticism like a man, like a team boss, like a chief executive and face up to the fact that Mercedes have got it wrong.”

Rubbing salt in his wounds, he even asserts that the 8-time-champions have dropped below the likes of Red Bull and Aston Martin; just enough to settle in with Ferrari. With their customer team finding glory, clearly, the onus is on Mercedes, and hence, Toto Wolff.

What Wolff did wrong for Lewis Hamilton

In order to save his star player, the man in the spotlight did something uncharacteristic. Wanting to fast-track change within his team, hoping for a better future. Wolff is also in the hot seat for Hamilton’s pending contract extension, with the champion being disappointed with where he stands.

Critical of his team, Wolff resorted to a call to action. “Really not good at all – we were just lacking pace front, right, and center. Red Bull is just on a different planet. That is what hurts because they are so far ahead, it reminds me of our best years because we just put a second on everybody else.”

Already giving up on the championship fight, Hamilton had his say as well. “Concern wouldn’t be the word,” he said. “There’s nothing that I can say. I don’t really want to say too much. We’ve just got to keep working.”

As Mercedes have a massive mess to sort out, the question remains if the team and Hamilton have faith left in the team that brought them so far. Even Wolff would need to sit back and recalibrate what to fix within his team.