Toto Wolff has responded to the leak of a lengthy email he sent to all Mercedes staff, which praised Kimi Antonelli and George Russell after Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula One history.
The email, addressed to all hands at the Silver Arrows, was published online after deputy team principal Bradley Lord shared it on social media. Wolff discussed the message when speaking to Sky Sports at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Wolff began with a tongue-in-cheek response to host Simon Lazenby, asking: "Did you read such a long email? It was quite long." He then explained that he felt the praise for trusting Antonelli at such a young age needed to be shared more evenly.
He said: "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.
"This email, it didn't even give it justice because there is 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."
Why the Email Was Shared
Wolff joked that he had not written anything of that length since his school days, and noted that Lord felt the quality of the words was stronger than usual, prompting him to share it on LinkedIn.
"Bradley felt that was a more clever email than normally, so he put it on LinkedIn and that it was when it was spread," Wolff laughed.
In his social media post, Lord paid tribute to Wolff's leadership and his effort to acknowledge everyone connected to Mercedes. Lord wrote: "I'm no frequent LinkedIn posted but, from time to time, something comes along that shows exactly why we are so lucky to work at Mercedes.
"Sharing internal emails is not the done thing at our place, so I hope I'll be forgiven by the IT and HR powers-that-be for taking the initiative on this occasion. This morning, whether in Brackley, Brixworth or Brazil, each one of us woke up to this email from the boss. The reason for sharing is to show you what we mean when we say the culture of our team starts from the top, with Toto.
"He combines a deep-seated, passionate refusal to lose with profound belief in, and compassion for, the team and individuals around him. We are all very fortunate to head into competition, week in and week out, with a leader like him. Even if we don’t like to tell him that to his face too often."
Antonelli is Mercedes' first world champion since Lewis Hamilton secured his seventh career title in 2020. Russell, who was earmarked for glory at the start of the year, has had a comparatively poor season.
