56 F1 RACING JANUARY 2020
to be capable of putting that behind, acknowledgethat sometimes it is
running away from you, and put yourself on the leash again. Egomaniacs
will never be successful in a sustainable way, over a long period. A sentence
that I like, and I think sums it up pretty well, is ‘leadership is not about
you, it’s about them’. I try to remind myself everyday – but I’m also lucky
that I have a private, personal and professional environment where I get
reminded of that very often. If it’s not happening in
the office then I come home and it’s [my wife] Susie
who puts me back on the ground, regularly.F1R:Speaking about ego, drivers areprobablythe
biggest egomaniacsin F1, so howdo you go a bout
managing them? You’ve been through stressfultimes
with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton throughthis
period of success,so that must havetaken up alot of
your managerialcapaci ty...TW:More in thepast! I think you just need to
acknowledge the personality, have respectfor the
differences of the individual, accept they have
objectives – that sometimes might differ to the
ones from the team – and be able to approach these
differences with curiosity rather than combat: Why
is he having that view? And I think by doing that,
you’re much less judgemental, and you are able to
put theobjec tive first, always.F1R:You lostNiki Lauda earlier this year and he was
an integral partner in your leadership of this team,
so how different has it been managing Mercedes
without yourpartner-in-crime?TW:He was my brother-in-crime, and onour
journey my best friend. And thatis the part most
missed,because the off-timewe spenttogether in
the evenings, or travelling,was re generation for me- was fun; he was avery good soundingboar d, spa rring partner, somebod y
with lots of experience,and this is what’smissing, for me personally. For
the team, his sheer presence wasof enormous power.The w ay he exercised
pressurewas i mportant.A very important human being that we lost.
F1R:What’s nextfor you? You’ve had this huge run of success, and F1is
reaching acrossroads, after 2020,so do you see your
long-term future as continuing to run thisteam,
or have you got eyeson taking this experience and
applying it to F1 itself – surely that’sthe next step?TW:I think a lot aboutwhat to do – about my
current role and my future. What I take most
enjoyment in is the relationships. I enjoy working
with Ola Källenius [Daimler chairman] in the
same way I’ve enjoyed working with Dieter Zetsche
[Daimler chair from 2006-2019]. They have
empowered me and given me a greatframe work
in the same way I try to give a great framework to
people in the team. That is an important factor.
I enjoy working with all the individuals, and
interacting with them. And I could name you many
people that I truly enjoy working with that I feel
inspired by. I feel blessed that there is extremely
intelligent and wisepeople that work within our
organisation that I can learn from. And equally, give
back from what I think I can contribute.
The moment you think about something else, you
are dropping the ball, or there is the risk of dropping
the ball – and I don’t want to drop the ball. That’s
why I’m a shareholder of the Mercedes Formula 1
team; I take great pride in being in such a role, and
I will not let myself be distracted withwhat I will
do in the future. At a certain stage I need to make
up my mind, Mercedes too, but until then there are
races to win and championships towin.“A sentence that I like, and I think sums it up pretty well,
is ‘leadership is not about you, it’s about them’. I try to
remind myself every day – but I’m also lucky that I have
a private, personal and professional environment where
I get reminded of that very often”
Wolff has enjoyed the success
of theteam in 2019 (above), but
admits the loss of Niki Lauda
(below) has hit him hard