Wolff: "There's a reason not many sports teams win consecutive titles"
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff thinks there is a reason that it's rare in any branch of sport to win consecutive championships, as the Austrian explained motivation and energy levels can be incredibly hard to keep up.
The Silver Arrows have broken the record this season of most consecutive double championships, as the German works team clinched their sixth drivers' title and constructors' title on the bounce in 2019.
Lewis Hamilton has taken five of the last six drivers' championships, with Nico Rosberg famously winning in 2016 before shockingly announcing his retirement from Formula 1.
Talking about what it takes to have such a dynasty in any sport, Wolff highlights motivation and energy as the key components which most teams struggle to keep up in their bids to retain titles.
“I think there is a reason why there's not many sports teams out there that have won many consecutive championships," the 47-year-old explained in Mercedes' year review video.
“You need to keep the team together. But equally, be aware that this is a dynamic structure that needs to evolve. You need to look at the levels of motivation and energy of the team members.
“You need to keep the seniority and the know-how in the team, but equally don't create the bottleneck for talent that's coming up.
“And this transition and motivation factor is something that I think we have managed well. It’s something that is certainly very difficult and this is why it wasn't done before.”
The change in personnel across the last six years certainly hasn't hindered Mercedes' progress, with notable departures being the ones of Paddy Lowe to Williams and Rosberg's previously mentioned retirement. An unforeseen loss in personnel was this year's tragic passing of F1 legend Niki Lauda, who has played a vital role in Mercedes' tremendous success in his advisory role.