Former Mercedes technical director: "I was speechless"

Aldo Costa was technical director until the end of 2018 at Mercedes. He was mentioned by Toto Wolff in the speech he gave after the Grand Prix at Imola, where Mercedes won the seventh constructors' title. He admitted how honoured he is, considering he is no longer involved with Mercedes.

"We had signs on which to put projects and ambitions," Costa reflected on the beginning of the Mercedes adventure. "I wrote that we shouldn't think about winning a title, but about winning many of them. It wasn't a boast, it's just that these are objectives that require completely different organisational processes."

"He left me speechless," Costa told La Gazzetta dello Sport when he heard his name, but he understands why. "But the fact that he remembered that episode is confirmation of the atmosphere in the team. Of the values we have built. Toto didn't talk about mechanics or technique. He talked about people and values."

"He called Mercedes a Fun-Team, because people enjoy working there. Because there is unity, there is no politics. And more than anything else there is a climate of non-colevolution. Which is fundamental. If when you make a mistake you know that you will be protected and consoled rather than pointed out, you will feel free to dare. And in a rapidly developing context like Formula 1, daring is absolutely necessary."

Mercedes remain strong

"He who goes prepares the future, grows successors in the same philosophy. It is also a way of adapting to the vicissitudes of life. And that's why I keep imagining a very strong Mercedes. And I don't see who can stop it", says Costa, stating that Mercedes can remain a very strong team even without leaders like Wolff, Cowell and others.