Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

Are F1's technical changes for Miami enough to ease 2026 concerns?

Feature
Formula 1
Are F1's technical changes for Miami enough to ease 2026 concerns?

FIA confirms changes to 2026 F1 rules ahead of Miami GP

Formula 1
Miami GP
FIA confirms changes to 2026 F1 rules ahead of Miami GP

Wolff warns against ADUO “gamesmanship”: Only one F1 manufacturer has a problem

Formula 1
Wolff warns against ADUO “gamesmanship”: Only one F1 manufacturer has a problem

Why 2026 F1 rule changes involve "a scalpel, not a baseball bat"

Formula 1
Miami GP
Why 2026 F1 rule changes involve "a scalpel, not a baseball bat"

Cars and stars from the 2026 Goodwood Members’ Meeting

General
Cars and stars from the 2026 Goodwood Members’ Meeting

Sutton takes early BTCC lead after Donington Park opener

Feature
BTCC
Donington Park (National Circuit)
Sutton takes early BTCC lead after Donington Park opener

Close encounters bookend glorious Goodwood’s 83rd Members’ Meeting

General
Close encounters bookend glorious Goodwood’s 83rd Members’ Meeting

Why 'inevitably' struck again in IndyCar as Palou won at Long Beach

Feature
IndyCar
Long Beach
Why 'inevitably' struck again in IndyCar as Palou won at Long Beach

Wolff took Prost's advice to avoid Senna-like F1 rivalry issues at Mercedes

Toto Wolff has revealed he asked Alain Prost about his rivalry with Ayrton Senna in a bid to avoid similar clashes with his Formula 1 drivers at Mercedes

Mercedes wrapped up a record-breaking seventh consecutive F1 constructors' championship at Imola earlier this month, while Lewis Hamilton is poised to match Michael Schumacher's record of seven drivers' titles, possibly as early as this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

Since Wolff took the reins at Mercedes in 2013, the team has established itself as one of the most dominant forces in F1 history, placing a strong emphasis on company culture and looking after its people.

It has always given its drivers equal treatment and sought to avoid any conflict, with Hamilton's existing partnership with Valtteri Bottas proving incredibly civil.

Wolff revealed that he spoke to four-time world champion Prost soon after taking over at Mercedes, asking what caused such issues with Senna during their rivalry at McLaren in the late 1980s.

"We have always been very transparent with each other," Wolff said.

"At the beginning of my stint with Mercedes, I remember a discussion with Alain Prost. I said to him, 'what went wrong between you and Senna?'

"He said that sometimes, we didn't know whether we had the support of the team or not. There was always politics involved.

"Now I don't know if that is true because I was not part of that, and certainly they had a great era.

"But we don't play politics. We play politics outside, but we don't play any politics inside. I would never permit it.

"Transparency, being honest with each other, blaming the problem and not the person, and empowering are the values that are of utmost importance to us.

"That's why it's a good place, a fun place, but it's also a pushing place."

PLUS: The biggest challenge now facing Mercedes in F1

Prost and Senna spent two tumultuous seasons together as team-mates at McLaren in 1988 and 1989, ending in a crash that decided the world championship at Suzuka in Prost's favour.

Prost quit McLaren to join Ferrari, where he again fought Senna for the title in 1990 and a repeat incident occurred at Suzuka with a crash to settle the championship, with Senna prevailing.

Mercedes has not experienced any on-track issues between its drivers since Nico Rosberg's exit at the end of the 2016 season.

The German driver retired from F1 just days after beating Hamilton to the world championship, with the relationship between the pair having deteriorated through their final year as team-mates.

Previous article Kvyat: "Difficult" AlphaTauri F1 future won't stop me pushing
Next article DRS will be "less influential" in F1's 2022 rules, says Key

Top Comments

Latest news