Toto Wolff: There is a bug somewhere in our system

Toto Wolff flew to Japan for the first time in recent years and was very candid at a press conference on Friday…

Q: You’ve had double retirements before, but then you dominated the season. How much of an impact did the double retirements in Melbourne have on the team?
Toto Wolff: I look at it differently. We have the most honest and open approach. We know how much we have to do to get back into the fight. If the car is fast, I’m happy. If there is no speed, none of us can be happy. We are looking for speed. George had an accident, Lewis’s engine failed – this happens sometimes in racing.

Q: Can I ask you about George’s accident in Melbourne? You are a former racer. What do you think of Fernando Alonso’s actions?
Toto Wolff: You’ve heard the racers’ opinions. They obviously understand a lot more than I do, and I’ve never raced at this track. Their opinions were divided. Fernando defended aggressively and tried to seize the initiative before the turn. Maybe he exaggerated it. And George tried to overtake, taking responsibility for the fact that he might have an accident.

Perhaps in such fast corners it is better to act as in a go-kart, reducing the speed on the entry, but who am I to give them advice? I have never performed at this level before. I’m just an observer, I look at the telemetry and see that the position of the accelerator and brake pedals on that lap was completely different than on the rest.

Q: James Ellison spoke after Melbourne about data correlation issues and the need to rethink your modeling tools at Brackley. Are you far behind your competitors in this area?
Toto Wolff: According to the stopwatch – yes. There is an error somewhere in our system that shows much more downforce during measurements than we see on the real circuit. We have been struggling with this problem since we switched to new regulations in 2022. It has not yet been possible to solve it.

Q: When planning the testing program for Kimi Antonelli, you initially wanted to wait until August, when he turned 18. It has now been announced that he will be working in Austria in two weeks. Do you want to quickly review it?
Toto Wolff: Kimi’s preparation program for Formula 1 was developed a long time ago and has not undergone any significant changes in recent weeks. We have increased the number of days, but the program he will complete in the near future does not depend on whether he becomes Formula 1’s main driver next year or not.

We want to give him the opportunity to feel comfortable in a Formula 1 car. In Austria he will drive a 2021 car for the first time. We want him to know what a really good car is before we put him behind the wheel of the 2022 car.

Think of how fast Oliver Berman was in Saudi Arabia. No training, a difficult high-speed circuit – and he was immediately at his best. So everything works out for Kimi.

Q: At the other end of the age spectrum is Sebastian Vettel. In recent days he said he has discussed several matters with you. Lewis said yesterday that he believes Seb is a great option for Mercedes next year. Is he one of the candidates?
Toto Wolff: Sebastian can never be counted out. His track record is phenomenal. Sometimes it’s helpful to take a break to understand what’s really important to you and find new motivation. Like I said, we haven’t made a decision yet. And we don’t plan to do this in the coming weeks.

The situation on the pilot market is very dynamic. We want to keep all options open. It is still too early to choose a driver, whether young or experienced – I don’t want to say old – very experienced. The coming months will give us more information.

Question: Toto, have you already reduced the list to one, two, three riders?
Toto Wolff: Yes.

Q: Can you give their number?
Toto Wolff: No.

Q: Initially you weren’t supposed to go to this race. Why did you decide to come?
Toto Wolff: I didn’t plan to come to Japan because there is a lot to do in Europe. But then I felt I had to join the team. It’s also helpful for me to be closer to the action. We are doing some experiments now and it gives me energy to be part of the team. I hope that my presence also energizes the team. That’s why I decided not to stay in Europe.

We are a sports team. We won eight titles in a row, which has never happened before in history. But every team has defeats. You can’t win everything.

And we have lost more than one race, not a single season, the problems persist for the third year in a row. But I am absolutely convinced that in a few years we will be able to look back and say that this was important for the development of the team, for re-evaluating our tools and systems that are clearly not working as well as they did under previous regulations.

Q: Can you confirm that the drive unit that failed in Lewis’ car in Melbourne cannot be repaired?
Toto Wolff: Yes, you just have to throw it away. This is a very unusual failure that has never happened before. We won’t be able to reuse it, but at the moment I can’t say whether we need an extra engine or not.