Toto Wolff explains Mercedes ‘no d***heads’ policy as Lewis Hamilton talks go on

Lewis Hamilton shows off his impressive surfing skills

Toto Wolff has insisted that he does not want to work alongside any ‘d***heads’ at Mercedes as the Silver Arrows bid to catch up with Red Bull at the front of the pecking order. The team are currently looking to tie Lewis Hamilton down to a new and improved contract that would reportedly keep him on their books for another two seasons, with the 38-year-old’s existing deal set to expire at the end of this season.

Wolff and Hamilton are known to share a strong bond at Mercedes, with the pair having achieved an unprecedented level of success over the last 10 years, while they also consider each other as close friends away from the track. It is no secret that Wolff is desperate for Hamilton to extend his stay with the Silver Arrows over the coming weeks, although he is equally keen to maintain a positive working environment at their Brackley headquarters by following in the footsteps of the All Blacks when it comes to recruiting other members of staff.

“Sometimes the best ones are the most complex ones,” said Wolff in an interview with Nasser Hussain as part of a new Sky Sports documentary, which is out on Wednesday.

“I think it’s just acknowledging that we’re all different. It is my duty to create an environment which makes everybody thrive. You can be complex, you can be fussy. We tolerate edgy people, that’s fine. We want to have the best ones and as I said before, they are complex. But the fallback would always be the All Blacks policy, no d***heads. If you lack the basic values of integrity, loyalty and truthfulness, then you shouldn’t be here.”

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Hamilton is widely expected to agree fresh terms with Mercedes in the not-too-distant future, with Wolff revealing earlier this month that an official announcement could be made in a matter of days as opposed to weeks. The Brit’s immediate future in F1 will remain hanging in the balance until he eventually puts pen to paper, although it would be a major surprise if he suddenly decides to leave Mercedes after weeks of negotiations behind closed doors.

Wolff also opened up on the great care he takes to ensure that Hamilton remains happy at Mercedes, with the Austrian willing to accept his desire to pursue other passions alongside his F1 commitments as long as he keeps performing for the team. Hamilton is known to harbour a keen interest in fashion design, while he also enjoys music and continues to speak up against social injustices both in F1 and outside of the sport.

“Lewis is a friend of mine and his drive to be creative and successful in the fashion industry is something I permitted from the beginning,” said Wolff, before recalling one weekend in Singapore when Hamilton silenced his critics despite seeing his professionalism come under scrutiny.

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“Because we have that pact, he performs. On that particular week I remember we were sitting with the engineers and he was FaceTiming me. He was saying: ‘Can you believe that I’m on the catwalk in Shanghai launching my own collection? Thank you for letting me do this’.

“I saw the happiness in his face and I knew that when he’s going to come to Singapore he’s going to be on it because he’s in a good space. He came late and then I had a press conference and all the journalists were all over me saying it’s not professional to miss the first meetings. I just smiled.

“In qualifying he put in a lap that was unseen. On Sunday he took the lead and disappeared into the distance and was never seen. That is the moment when people stop telling me and telling him what to do.”

Secrets of Success is available on Sky Sports and Sky Documentaries from Wednesday.

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