Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will not attend this week's Azerbaijan GP. According to reports from GPblog and PaddockNews24 on 22 September, Wolff will follow the race remotely while deputy Bradley Lord runs the team on the ground in Baku. It is the first race of back-to-back triple-headers, and it comes as the budget and upgrade row with Ferrari that began at the end of June flared up again in a RacingNews365 article today.
No reason given, and his second absence of the year
Both outlets say no particular reason has been given. It is not unusual for Wolff to miss a race when he has a stand-in, and he also skipped the Japanese GP at Suzuka this season. Lord has filled the same role before. According to PaddockNews24, Mercedes arrive in Baku with the top two in the drivers' standings: Kimi Antonelli on 292 points and George Russell on 211.
In a Speedweek preview on 22 September, Wolff said: "With short recovery time, preparation, reliability and operational execution become even more important. It's a moment where you can consolidate or lose your championship position," adding that "in Baku, weaknesses are laid bare very quickly". The person carrying that out at the track will not be Wolff himself. Six races remain in seven weeks.
Round one: from "no limits" in Austria to "cheating?" at Silverstone
The row began after the Austrian GP at the end of June. When Ferrari followed an aero overhaul with an engine upgrade, Wolff called them "a team that seems to have no limits in that respect", and told PlanetF1 and others: "It's amazing that Ferrari can keep throwing such big updates at it. Normally they should soon run out of money under the cost cap." At the Friday press conference at Silverstone on 3 July, Fred Vasseur replied: "That's not for Toto and Mercedes to say. When Red Bull or Mercedes develop, they're geniuses, and when we develop, it's cheating?" Asked whether that implied a breach of the cap, he answered: "If that's what they think, that's the direction it's going."
On 5 July Wolff responded: "Fred is very emotional. If he had read my words rather than the headlines, he would have seen it was just an observation," adding: "It's emotion that comes from being passionate about the team's success, and I'm fine with it." Charles Leclerc said before the Belgian GP on 16 July: "On that subject I trust Fred more than anything. Am I worried? No," and heading into the summer break he said: "We need to keep developing as aggressively as we are now." According to PlanetF1, Ferrari brought 11 new parts to Miami and eight to Barcelona, and Vasseur's reasoning is that "two tenths for five races is better than two tenths for the last two".
Round two: from "no money" at Zandvoort to "no clue" at Monza
Right after the Dutch GP, where Lando Norris won and Antonelli and Russell had to settle for second and third, Wolff said: "We don't have the money to put developments on the car. We are calculating when to bring our biggest updates and spreading them evenly across the season," adding that "it has become harder than at the start of the season" (reported by Speedweek on 24 August). Asked whether Ferrari and McLaren seemed to have money left, he said: "You'll see at the end of the season whether they can still bring as much as they do now. Some strategies spend more in the early and middle part of the year." This year's cost cap is $215 million, reflecting the major regulation overhaul (the 2025 baseline was $135 million). According to Autosport, Mercedes brought one big package in Canada, and the next is expected in Baku.
At the Friday press conference at Monza on 4 September, Vasseur replied: "I'm not going to say anything about Toto's budget cap. But I don't appreciate someone talking about my budget without having any clue," adding: "We will develop at the same pace until the last race, and we will also have some margin under the cap." RacingNews365 revisited those comments today.
What to watch in Baku
As it happens, it was Lord who, in an Autosport article on 2 September, explained Wolff's "no money" remark as "an invisible battle within the cost cap". This week Lord will be the face of Mercedes in the paddock. Ferrari say they will develop at the same pace to the end, and Mercedes look set to bring an upgrade to Baku. Which side is right will start to show on track in Saturday's race.
Sources
- GPblog — Toto Wolff absent for Mercedes at the Baku Grand Prix (9/22)
- PaddockNews24 — Mercedes deputy Bradley Lord to replace Toto Wolff at Azerbaijan GP (9/22)
- Speedweek — Toto Wolff: Weaknesses are laid bare very quickly in Baku (9/22)
- RacingNews365 — Fred Vasseur hits back at F1 rival Toto Wolff over Ferrari budget claim (9/23)
- GPblog — Vasseur slams Wolff for speaking about Ferrari budget without any clue (9/4)
- Autosport — Making sense of Wolff's claim that Mercedes haven't got the money for car development (9/2)
- Speedweek — Toto Wolff: No more money for car development? (8/24)
- PlanetF1 — Charles Leclerc weighs in after Toto Wolff comment sparks Vasseur anger (8/16)
- Formula1.com — Leclerc backs Vasseur amid Ferrari budget cap questions (7/16)
- MotorBiscuit — Toto Wolff brushes off Ferrari's budget cap anger as pure emotionality (7/5)
- The Race — What's got Ferrari so wound up over Mercedes' upgrade comments (7/3)