Toto Wolff to miss big percentage of F1 races in future Mercedes plan

Toto Wolff said his ideal number of races in a year would be 15 as he maps out a Mercedes without him being part of it.

Wolff has spent a couple of races away from the track this season, most recently in Japan and Qatar as he recovered from knee surgery, but has often suggested he will miss races as the season expands.

Next year 24 races have been scheduled for the calendar but Wolff is hoping one day to miss almost 40% of them.

Toto Wolff planning stay at home role in F1 future

Travelling to Vegas has proven a particularly difficult challenge for the drivers and teams and that challenge is only going to get harder when they are asked to move to Abu Dhabi a week later, a place that is 12 hours ahead of Vegas.

Wolff, who is grooming Jérome D’Ambrosio as his stand-in, hopes to sit out more races in the years ahead.

“The clear aim is to build a structure for the future and that is my sheer responsibility for the team,” Wolff told PA.

“A stone could fall on my head and how does it look afterwards? That is why I would like to see myself in a few years maybe not going to 24 races, and just to 15.

“But that is many years away. I see myself in this role for a long time. I cannot imagine doing something else.

PlanetF1.com recommends

Revealed: The contract status of every single race on the F1 2023 calendar

F1 tickets: How much will it cost F1 fans to watch a race in 2024?

“I really struggled in 2020 to make a decision on whether I wanted to stay active in the sport or to be a shareholder and go back to my finance world. I was tired, mentally and physically, but then I came to the realisation that I wanted to continue.

“I feel I am contributing to the team in the crossover world of finance and motor racing, and I have a passion for both, and that is why I continue to do it.”

For now, skipping races is an option few other team principals have taken up. Williams’ James Vowles did miss the Brazilian Grand Prix but did so because his partner was giving birth.

Formula 1 has made some attempt to make the calendar easier next year with Japan moving earlier to fit with other Asian races. Miami has also moved out of the European section that it had been squeezed into in 2023 and 2022.

Read next: ‘We looked like a clown’ – Max Verstappen pans Las Vegas GP opening ceremony