Toto Wolff isn’t surprised that Mercedes has dropped to third place in Formula One, behind McLaren and Red Bull.
Toto Wolff believes that Mercedes’ domination of the sport in recent years makes it quite logical that they would not be the most popular team in Formula 1.
Mercedes is currently the sport’s third most popular team, behind only McLaren and Red Bull, according to a recent global fan survey.
Wolff, who has won seven World Championships in a row, believes that human nature makes it nearly difficult for his team to be the most popular.
“Well, obviously, you want to be the team number one everywhere,” he said.
“But I think it’s the normal evolution that we have expected. We have been very fortunate to win seven times in a row, a tremendous streak of success.
“It’s clear that, in nature, you cheer more for teams that had more difficult times and [are] a little bit of an underdog.”
Wolff also believes that McLaren’s drivers, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, who are both in the top four drivers in the world, contribute significantly to the team’s popularity.
“They’re doing a super job with the drivers also,” he said.
“Daniel has been loved for a long time, and Lando is doing pretty well. They deserve to be right up there. The whole package, in terms of marketing and social media, are just very good.
“We need to think about what can we do, but you can’t change history and I wouldn’t want to change it.”
A beaming McLaren CEO Zak Brown stated that since taking over the helm five years ago, he has attempted to bring about a culture shift at the once austere and aloof team.
“All I can really do is speak about how we go about going motor racing,” Brown explained.
“We try and be a fun racing team, an inclusive racing team. Drivers that are very open, communicate with our fans frequently and often, speak with them, listen to them. We’re just doing our thing and it’s nice to see them react so positively to it.
“I’m a huge fan of the sport so I try and bring through the lens… it wasn’t long ago I was sitting in the grandstand watching the Ayrton Sennas and Lewis Hamiltons and trying to understand what would get me excited about the sport.
“We’re just trying to provide that experience back to the fans and it seems to be working.”
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