Wolff: F1 at its most political in last six months

Mark Scott
Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff has said he has never seen so much “opportunism and manipulation” in Formula 1 than what he has witnessed in the last six months.

From the fiasco in Melbourne when the race weekend was called off with just two hours to go until FP1 to the fall-out from the regular meetings between F1 team bosses and Formula 1 during these unprecedented times, the political games have been rife over the last few months.

There have been regular disagreements, in particular, over the upcoming budget cap and on how long the new regulations should be freezed for to help teams save money during lengthy hiatus.

And Wolff said that he cannot recall another period during his time in Formula 1 which has been as political when compared to the last six months.

“I’ve been in the sport since 2009 with Williams and I’ve never seen so much opportunism and manipulation,” Wolff said in an interview with ESPN.

“There are sides of the sport that I question and, at times, the sport itself became background music and not the main act anymore.

“I’ve learned a lot about various people and, as much as I know that this is a highly political environment and everybody tries to gain a benefit, I would say that these past six months were the most political times in Formula One that I have been part of.”

But, despite the political games being played, Wolff knows that they will not be going on for much longer if racing can resume soon.

“But at the end, you know, all that is irrelevant. Why we love the sport is because it all comes down to performance.

“Once the flag drops, the bullshit stops. And the bullshit is going to stop soon and then all these interviews and all these opinions become irrelevant.”

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