From conversations in the kitchen to claims he disappears on drivers in the midst of negotiations, Toto Wolff is adamant he\u2019s always \u201cfair\u201d as he puts himself in the \u201cother person\u2019s shoes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mercedes\u2019 team principal and CEO since 2013, it seems Wolff has contrasting approaches to his contract negotiations with his drivers.<\/p>\n
Toto Wolff: I give my soul to the other side\u2026<\/p>\n
With Mercedes\u2019 six-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton it was kitchen talks in hi Oxfordshire home that led to Briton staying on after 2016 when his team-mate Nico Rosberg beat him to the World title.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were in my kitchen. I said to him, and Susie didn\u2019t much like this analogy, that even though Susie and I might disagree about something, it would never come into my mind to divorce. \u2018And it\u2019s the same with you Lewis,\u2019 I said,\u201d Wolff told The Times.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018I don\u2019t want a divorce. You\u2019re the best driver. I want you in our car and we want to provide you with the best car\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201ce kind of went into this discussion at loggerheads and then, after four or five hours in the kitchen, we found ourselves on a totally different level.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Rosberg, who raced for Mercedes<\/a> from 2010 to 2016 when he abruptly retired from the sport after winning the World title, saw a different side to the Austrian\u2019s negotiating tactics.<\/p>\n \u201cToto\u2019s horrible to negotiate with,\u201d he told Sky F1 at Spa. \u201cBecause his tactic is to disappear<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n A tactic that current driver George Russell could be experiencing, according to Rosberg. <\/p>\n \u201cLike George now,\u201d he added, \u201che\u2019s trying to get hold of him, Toto will disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n And where is he?<\/p>\n Holidaying alongside his much-wanted target, Max Verstappen, in Sardinia.<\/p>\n After doctored images appeared on social media of the two meeting up ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, this time sources close to the situation have indicated that the circulating images, as can be viewed below as on AutoSprint\u2019s own social media post, are authentic.<\/p>\n But while a holiday could just be a holiday, Wolff and Verstappen spending time together could be seen as mind games in Russell\u2019s Mercedes negotiations.<\/p>\n F1 contracts: Made to be broken?<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Revealed: The six drivers out of contract at the end of the F1 2025 season<\/a><\/p>\n