1978 Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti has hit out at Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, suggesting the Austrian has too much influence in F1.
Andretti was responding to an article from GrandPrix247, which argued that Wolff has too much power in the sport.
Mario’s son Michael has been moving to form his own outfit in the F1 paddock to expand on his racing operations in IndyCar and Formula E.
However, the movement has been met with resistance from some parties, including Wolff.
Wolff was one of the more vocal team bosses that questioned Andretti’s potential F1 entry and the value that they would add to the grid.
“I think that whoever joins as the 11th team, whoever gets an entry, needs to demonstrate how creative they can be for the business.,” Wolff said recently.
“Andretti is a great name, and I think they have done exceptional things in the US. But this is sport and this is business and we need to understand what is it that you can provide to the sport.”
The GrandPrix247 article questioned: “Is it not reasonable to question if his [Wolff’s] voice is louder than his peers, the other F1 team bosses?”
Taking to Twitter, Andretti provided his agreement: “This needed to be said; it’s about time,” he said.
Wolff currently has a 33 per cent stake in the Mercedes F1 team, with the other shares split between Daimler and Ineos.
Prior to joining Mercedes in 2013, Wolff was associated with the Williams squad from 2009, having shares in the team as well as being on its board of directors, before becoming its executive director in 2012.
Given the official (and unofficial) governance of FIA/F1 and relationships between Team Principals, is Mario able to offer any real evidence to justify?
If anything, as at AD21, the opposite is implied.
Toto is so annoying. He’s turning into the new Bernie Ecclestone. He says he knows whats best for F1 but he’s just protecting his own self interests $$$. Ask the fans and 99% of them would love another team, especially one of Andrettis pedigree.
99% ?
Have you any empirical data to show your analysis?
As for Toto becoming Bernie Ecclestone….that’s a farcical statement.
I don’t see Toto coming out with Bernie like statements.
Here’s a few famous soundbites from Bernie.
1) “Hitler had the right idea?”
Or
2) “I’d be prepared to take a bullet for Putin!”
0r
3) “London is unrecognisable these days!” .(side angled way of saying too many Blacks/Browns in London)
Then there is the fact of Bernie…evading paying taxes & hiding 400 million pounds from the British Tax Office.
Not to mention getting caught with a “revolver” at customs check.
Not to mention his dealing with a certain German Bank.
Nope Toto definitely isn’t a Bernie doppelganger.
As for Andretti he can jibber jabber his woes 24/7..
This is F1 and he can keep his racing stink back in the USA.
I for one prefer him far away from F1. He definitely isn’t in the management level of Zak Brown.
All Andretti wants to do is get his mediocre offspring in a F1 car. Will not have enough money to compete in F1 season and will end up running a half ass Indy team on bouncing cheques and fairy dust.
Wow, triggered much? You’re analysis of the Andretti team is flawed and ill informed. Try and stay positive mate, life is too short.
Get a grip bud. They said he’s like Bernie because he’s full of himself, claims he knows what’s best for f1, but really he was only ever looking out for himself. Bernie was a gatekeeper and now Toto thinks that’s his job.
“All he wants to do is get his mediocre offspring in an F1 car”
This is absurd and hilarious at the same time. Marco isn’t even racing anymore. He stepped back after last year, and besides, he doesn’t qualify for a super-license so your point was hilariously moot.
None of those statements from Ecclestone are wrong. Everything Hitler predicted has happened to the West, Putin is the only major leader left in the world fighting for the good of the people on this planet, and London is an absolute sh*thole filled with brown criminals armed to the gills with actual citizens being disarmed. So what is your point?
Hey Biff… Got any data (empirical or otherwise) to back your statements???
F1 teams, especially blowhard crooks like Wolff, should have zero say in who joins F1. If there is one thing Eccelstone was right about, it was when he (repeatedly) said a democracy within F1 will only prevent progress, and instead it needs a strong leader who can put his foot down and say “this is how things are going to be from now on, like it or leave it”. He was never able to do this after selling the F1 name (his own fault). Over the past two decades there have been so many potential new teams that had legitimate financial backing and were turned down because the other teams didn’t want to give away their slice of the prize money.
For example in 2009 when Stefan GP, who not only had the financial backing, but also newly designed and ready-to-race (unbranded) Toyota cars to use — including the Toyota’s facilities — was turned down in favour of USF1, which turned out to be the most spectacularly hilarious failure in all of F1 history. I cannot remember who exactly, but I believe it was Ferrari that prevented Stefan GP from happening, and USF1 instead got the grid slot even though all they had was an empty building with a few desktop computers, and a scale-size nose cone (how Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor did not go to prison for this insane money laundering scheme, or how Peter has not been blackballed from F1 forever, I would love to know). Point being is, whichever team or teams it was that prevented Stefan GP from happening, they knew that USF1 had no chance of ever actually happening. This should have never happened, and it should not be allowed to happen again in the future. Andretti has serious money and the facilities to make an F1 team happen, regardless of what Wolff thinks. If they have the money to enter, and there are enough grid spots remaining, there should be nothing to stop them.