Toto Wolff: That's how he experienced his break at the Brazil race

Toto Wolff is back at Mercedes in Abu Dhabi Zoom

“The battle peculiar because it's the first race battle since my Williams time I've missed,” admits the Austrian. “I did that because there's a lot of business going on right now, so I followed the Formula E weekend and now it's Abu Dhabi, and some things just had to be done.”

That's it “normal” office work has been stressed Wolff. In addition, the Viennese understood the short absence as an experiment for themselves. “I wanted to know how I handle it, I know that the Group can do it all perfectly without me.”

That's why the Mercedes team boss took this step. He had the suspicion that it could be “beneficial” if he himself would not distract anyone at the track by his presence. Above all, the mental impact of his absence Wolff wanted to fathom.

“And I'm satisfied with my mental health. I have hardly written news. I enjoyed that,” he says in an interview. Sky 'too. He was barely connected to his group or deputy James Allison.

“I did not have the urge, [mich einzumischen] I totally trust the boys, so I never felt the need to call or give advice. ” Although he has to pause after this sentence, and then remark: “Maybe at the end of the race …”

Because by the wrong strategic move his team gambled a better Scheme of Lewis Hamilton. Allison described the further pit stop as “stupid” and “rookie mistake”. But Wolff defends his Group: “Used to be happened would have happened to me on the spot.”

He was hoping the race would be “perfect” for him to run a few less attractive races in the coming year can omit – “but at the moment this plan is canceled”. In 'Sky', the Austrian jokingly remarked: 'I said to the boys at the pit wall:' It looks like intestine today, probably because I'm back. 'Everything has its order again, they just laughed.'

The entire Interlagos weekend Wolff nevertheless pursued by strategy of television. For the first time since “From the view it's really exciting to see everything about the race, I'm pretty impressed with the level of my competitors, who said so, I usually never get to see that.”