Why Wolff is at the pit wall at Mercedes in Japan after all

Toto Wolff was supposed to skip the Japanese Grand Prix at the pit wall, but the Austrian is 'just' present this weekend at the Suzuka circuit. Why? The 52-year-old team boss answered that question himself during the team principals' press conference.

"Yes, I had planned not to come to Japan because there's so much on back in Europe, things to do," Wolff said. "But then I felt not coming to Japan was the wrong choice. I think it's important to be with the race team also. It does me good also to be close to the action. We are experimenting with a few things and then being part of the team really gives me energy. I hope the other way around too. So that's why I decided against staying in Europe."

Mercedes continue to struggle

For Mercedes, the season start can be described as downright disappointing. The German formation picked up just 26 points in three Grands Prix, a negative record. For the third season in a row, they have failed to build a car in Brackley that can compete for world titles. How does Wolff keep everyone motivated?

"We've won eight times in a row and that hasn't been done before. But you have periods where you struggle like any other sports team, and you can't win every time. And that's why this is a super challenge. And it's not a race. It's not one single season and then you come back out on top. But it's the third one in a row," he says.

"I remain absolutely convinced that we will be looking back in a few years and saying that was so tough, but so important for the development of the team from maybe an organisational standpoint, from re-evaluating our tools and systems, which clearly don't work as good as they did in previous regulations."