Toto Wolff has opened up about the lengthy message he sent to Mercedes staff following Kimi Antonelli‘s maiden Formula 1 world title, explaining why he felt it was important to recognise those working behind the scenes.
The Austrian wrote an email of around 1,000 words after Antonelli secured the championship in Mexico, with the message later appearing on LinkedIn after deputy team principal Bradley Lord decided to share it publicly.
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Wolff’s decision to put his thoughts into writing came after he received considerable praise for promoting Antonelli to Formula 1 in 2025, when the Italian replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Rather than taking the credit himself, the Mercedes boss wanted to highlight the wider group of people who helped Antonelli reach the top of the sport.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, Wolff initially joked about the unusual length of his message: “It was 1000 words. I was surprised. The last time I wrote that was under severe pressure in school.”
Photo: Race Pictures
Photo: Race Pictures
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Wolff reveals what prompted his message to Mercedes staff
Wolff explained that the email was not something he planned in advance, but rather a response to the attention he received following Antonelli’s championship success.
“So why I did it was spontaneous, because I got so much praise on that Sunday night about giving him the opportunity, and in Italy, and it’s something that makes you very proud. But I felt I needed to give credit to all the people that maybe weren’t so much in the spotlight.”
The Mercedes team principal also admitted that even a message of that length could not adequately acknowledge everyone who contributed to the Italian driver’s development.
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“And this email didn’t even give it justice because there are many more that were part of the decision-making process and getting him to where he was, and that’s why I felt like I need to at least express my gratitude to the big team.”
The message was originally intended for Mercedes employees, but Lord subsequently decided to publish it on LinkedIn, bringing Wolff’s words to a much wider audience: “Then Bradley felt that was a more clever email than normally, so he put it on LinkedIn and that is when it was spread.”
After celebrating Antonelli’s maiden Drivers’ World Championship in Mexico, Mercedes had another reason to celebrate at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where the Silver Arrowssecured the Constructors’ Championship with three races to spare.
The result marked the team’s first constructors’ triumph since 2021 and completed its first championship double since 2020, underlining its return to the top of Formula 1 after several challenging seasons.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
