Mercedes-AMG Petronas are the team to beat and despite the fact that Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, has already gone on record saying that the season won’t be a walk in the park, situations certainly appear to be conspiring against the Silver (temporarily black) Arrows. A classic tactic to attempt to de-stabilise a team is by starting rumours or implying comments that shift the focus of the team. In recent weeks, Toto Wolff’s extra F1 activities have made the headlines but the main Mercedes man insists that there is ‘no conflict of interest’.

Already we have been made aware that teams were informed last week by letter that the FIA wants to have one mode in use for both qualifying and the race. A decision many believe was made to bring the pack closer together and namely stop Mercedes getting too far out front.

The conspiracy theorists believe that this shows that if the other teams cannot catch the pace setters, certain initiatives will be implemented in an attempt to slow them down.

For now, Mercedes-AMG Petronas are out in front but with a continued uncertainty around team boss Toto Wolff’s future, it may not take much to break the status quo.

It is well reported that Toto Wolff is in a “period of reflection” as he assesses whether to continue in his role beyond the end of the 2020 season. Such reason for doubt has come from the fact that Wolff has interest in Williams, Aston Martin and of course Mercedes.

Toto Wolff was quizzed about this following Lewis Hamilton’s dominant victory this past Sunday at the Spanish Grand Prix. His response to such a question was firm and clear and presumably stated in the hope of putting any speculation to bed.

“There is no conflict of interest.”

“But I understand that it p****s some people off and sometimes the perception is something that is important to recognise and I do that…I completely understand that if you have been successful over a few years and me as an entrepreneur, which I have always been, having interests in certain indirect relationships with players in the sport – this is annoying. If I were on the other side I would also pick on these things.”

Such terminology is interesting as one can interpret this as Toto Wolff saying the media only cares about this as he is winning and successful. Well, Toto Wolff’s whole career is a story of success and seizing opportunity as race fans found out in the Beyond the Grid podcast many months back hosted by Tom Clarkson.

Whilst speaking to the media on Sunday, The Mercedes Team Principal made clear his roles and involvement with the F1 teams being called into question:

“There is one essential point with me: when I joined Mercedes, I decided, and this was an intense discussion with Mercedes, to do everything in the interest of the sport. So, to clarify: I sold the Williams shares but I got them back because they were held in escrow and the last payment defaulted. It’s not something that I wanted and I made it clear with Mercedes that my main priority with those shares is to sell them. So the process that has been started by Claire and the team is something that I really appreciate because it allows me to sell those shares. That’s number one.”

This point can be summarised as being that Wolff never wanted to retain the Williams shares but as another party did not fulfill what was agreed the shares reverted to him and now he is attempting to sell them again.

So, what of his involvement with Aston Martin and Racing Point? Wolff is clear on this too:

“The Aston Martin investment is tiny. I’ve bought a few shares in a car company that has no direct shareholding with an F1 team but is simply doing the branding on the Red Bull car this year and on the Racing Point next year.”

“I see it as a good investment – I like the products, the new management team is fantastic. And I have no board seat, which was agreed with Daimler, and no other involvement. I’m not a consultant, I’m not an executive and I’m just watching from the sideline what happens.”

So, that settles that. However, for a man already a manager to Esteban Ocon, he does not stop there and is still watching from the sidelines when it comes to young driver management - but that is all he is doing:

“I’ve refrained from direct driver management…It’s all under the roof of MGP, of the Mercedes Formula 1 team. We have tried, like any other big team, to really look at the talent that is coming up from karting onwards, and like Ferrari, that has expanded its activities in the junior programme, and has some very promising young drivers coming up, we have done that a few years ago and Red Bull has done it too.”

To me, this statement echoed the sentiments of Valtteri Bottas in Australia 2019 and his infamous ‘To whom it may concern…’

Rivals to Mercedes better look elsewhere for an angle because the Mercedes master is well aware that his interests are annoying others (to use less colourful language) but there is certainly no conflict of interest.

So, now we wait to see what story next takes up the column inches because if the next F1 Grand Prix echoes the procession of Spain…you can be certain there will be one.

https://www.motorlat.com/notas/f1/16732/f1-all-ten-teams-sign-the-new-concorde-agreement