Toto Wolff, Executive Director (Business) & Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport explains how Mercedes’ F1 program will directly benefit the road cars of the marque.
Auto123.com met with Toto Wolff, Executive Director (Business) & Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport during the weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix. Wolff explained how Mercedes’ F1 program will directly benefit the road cars of the marque.
“In F1, we now have the most efficient engines, and just 100kg of fuel for the race,” said Wolff.
“Yes, the lap time’s a bit slower than last year mainly because of changes to the aerodynamic rules. However, the top speed is faster. At Barcelona, cars reached 318km/h last year. This year, it was 357km/h; and that with an engine that uses one-third less fuel.
“That technical development has a direct effect on our car business as we will be able to develop smaller engines that will also be more efficient and more powerful,” Wolff told us.
Technology exchange
Wolff said there was a direct exchange of technology between the F1 team and engineers at Mercedes-Benz.
“We had an example a few months ago when we ran into a problem with the cooling system. We did not understand why. We got the guys back at R&D in Stuttgart to look into it and they found an instant solution, because they knew the problem from the road-car department. The exchange was quite interesting. They solved our problem, but they found our cooling technology so interesting and innovative that they want to implement it in the next generation S-Class. Being able to rely on these guys is one of our strengths,” Wolff explained.
Can you measure the benefits of the Formula 1 program?
“No, you can’t really measure it. The idea is to shape the brand, to make it more appealing, maybe to a slightly younger audience that fits with the new models from Mercedes,” Wolff replied.
“Everything we do here is about branding. In terms of tech regulation, that kind of format with very powerful yet very efficient hybrid engines is what we are doing with the road cars. In our communication campaigns, we refer to the hybrid tech winning at the pinnacle of motorsport. Mercedes-Benz has made a long-time commitment to F1,” concluded Wolff.
Auto123.com met with Toto Wolff, Executive Director (Business) & Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport during the weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix. Wolff explained how Mercedes’ F1 program will directly benefit the road cars of the marque.
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| Toto Wolff, Executive Director & Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. (Photo: WRi2) |
“In F1, we now have the most efficient engines, and just 100kg of fuel for the race,” said Wolff.
“Yes, the lap time’s a bit slower than last year mainly because of changes to the aerodynamic rules. However, the top speed is faster. At Barcelona, cars reached 318km/h last year. This year, it was 357km/h; and that with an engine that uses one-third less fuel.
“That technical development has a direct effect on our car business as we will be able to develop smaller engines that will also be more efficient and more powerful,” Wolff told us.
Technology exchange
Wolff said there was a direct exchange of technology between the F1 team and engineers at Mercedes-Benz.
“We had an example a few months ago when we ran into a problem with the cooling system. We did not understand why. We got the guys back at R&D in Stuttgart to look into it and they found an instant solution, because they knew the problem from the road-car department. The exchange was quite interesting. They solved our problem, but they found our cooling technology so interesting and innovative that they want to implement it in the next generation S-Class. Being able to rely on these guys is one of our strengths,” Wolff explained.
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| Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG W05. (Photo: René Fagnan) |
Can you measure the benefits of the Formula 1 program?
“No, you can’t really measure it. The idea is to shape the brand, to make it more appealing, maybe to a slightly younger audience that fits with the new models from Mercedes,” Wolff replied.
“Everything we do here is about branding. In terms of tech regulation, that kind of format with very powerful yet very efficient hybrid engines is what we are doing with the road cars. In our communication campaigns, we refer to the hybrid tech winning at the pinnacle of motorsport. Mercedes-Benz has made a long-time commitment to F1,” concluded Wolff.
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| Photo: Mercedes-Benz |