Toto Wolff says he would have taken MotoGP’s hard line on Qatar, but he will respect any Mercedes staff who don’t want to travel to F1’s Middle East races.
While F1 was crowning Kimi Antonelli champion in Mexico, MotoGP had a crisis brewing in Malaysia over traveling to Qatar for this weekend’s Grand Prix. The race is going ahead without Yamaha, who decided to skip the weekend.
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MotoGP will sanction the team under its contracts. Several riders also voiced reservations and were warned of action by the promoters, but most are racing, apart from a few who are injured.
F1 heads to the same region for its final two rounds, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and as things stand, both races will go ahead as scheduled.
There is an unofficial warning to the F1 drivers not to speak against any decision. Mercedes boss Wolff criticized riders who spoke out without knowing the geopolitics, but said anyone who chooses not to travel is making a personal decision he respects.
The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Image Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
‘You Want to Ride or Drive, Go’
Wolff has full faith in F1 and the FIA to make the right call, and as things are, he doesn’t see any issue despite warnings from Iran of an attack on high-profile events due to provocations from the United States and Israel.
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“Stefano and Mohammed have been pretty clear about the situation that Formula 1 follows what the international guidelines are, whether there are travel restrictions, airlines not flying, any warnings in the region, the kind of feedback that local governments are making,” said Wolff in Friday’s press conference at Interlagos.
“So not only the promoters, but what the local governments are making. And this is what you need to rely on, in my opinion, and I’m fully with that. I think that if riders stand up, who know nothing geopolitically about what’s going on, but have an audience that listens, I think that is something that creates media value.
“But I would have done the same as MotoGP management has done. You want to ride or drive, go. If you don’t want to, don’t go. It’s as simple as that, and everybody can take their personal decisions on that, and I respect it,” he said.
Wolff Will Respect Staff Who Don’t Want to Go
The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix. Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
If the situation gets more dangerous, Wolff trusts Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed Ben Sulayem to act, with Imola on standby as a replacement and a decision on it due within days.
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He also said that if someone on his team doesn’t want to travel, that’s fine, and it could give someone else a chance. “Of course, you’ve got to be wary of what’s happening in the next few days, a few weeks, and Stefano has his finger on the pulse to monitor that,” Wolff said.
“If things were to get more dangerous, and we would get that feedback, then he’s going to be the first one, together with Mohammed, to protect the people that were meant to travel. So that’s why I’m following their guidance. From what I’m hearing internally, it hasn’t been raised. It hasn’t been a topic.
“But also there, if someone feels they don’t feel comfortable, he or she doesn’t feel comfortable traveling, then it’s something that I would always respect. And maybe that’s an opportunity to give somebody else a chance.
“It wouldn’t change anything for the relationship. I’ve always respected that some people didn’t want to go to certain Grands Prix, and that’s how I see it at the moment,” Wolff said. Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur agreed, saying Ferrari would also respect the decision of any team member who doesn’t want to go.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
