06 October 2023 , 17:26
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Toto Wolff is "devastated" that he is watching this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix from afar, Lewis Hamilton said.
It is the second race in a row that the Austrian has missed. He was also absent from the Japanese Grand Prix, though that was a planned move as he had arranged to undergo surgery on his knee.
"I'm skipping Japan, then there's a free weekend," the Mercedes chief had declared before the Suzuka weekend. "In Qatar, I'd like to walk around without crutches. Then I might even be able to go skiing in the winter."
However, despite that plan to make the trip to the Middle East, Wolff is again keeping his distance. But, like he was in Japan, he will still be in constant communication with his lieutenants throughout the weekend.
Still, though, Hamilton shared how much his boss regrets the fact that he could not travel. "Toto's in every meeting. I saw someone wrote the other day that he had to call in or something for the last race... it was BS," he said.
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"Toto, even though he is not here in person – he is obviously devastated he can't be here – he is a part of every single meeting, he dialled into the meeting today, he will dial into the meeting tomorrow morning, he'll be in the meeting in the afternoon.
"He is on the comms just like the guys back at the factory are on the comms for strategy on the weekend. He is still 100 percent full a part, he's just not physically here in the country, but he is still a part of those meetings, he speaks in all the meetings as he does when he's here.
"He has worked incredibly hard to set up this team to be where it is today and he should be able to have weekends off without a problem – he is the boss. I just tell him we will be pushing and not to worry."
Mercedes driver development director Jerome D'Ambrosio took charge of the team for the Suzuka, race, supported by communications chief Bradley Lord. A similar leadership structure is expected this weekend in Qatar.
Regarding his own relationship with Wolff, Hamilton added: "Toto and I are in contact all the time, we are good friends and team-mates. We do a lot of talking about cars, we hang when I am back home, we have lunch and we talk a lot about... I am trying to learn from Toto as a businessman and he is always massively supportive.
"You're gonna see some things that will shift at least into next year but my progress, he has been such a huge part of that, being open-minded, allowing me to be who I am. We have done so much more than I think any other partnership that we have seen in the sport on many levels."