His work has reached unimaginable levels, and like Alejandro Agag, Formula E’s founder, he envisions combining the two tournaments on the same stage.

Beyond merging the competitions as suggested by some, the Mercedes boss considers that it would be more viable to alternate the same stage in the future. “I’m not sure about merging, there are legal contracts. But I think Formula E looks spectacular on street circuits and I can really imagine these cars racing with Formula 1 in Monaco, in Singapore, on some of the street circuits,” he commented.

Innovative Impact

The Austrian has also highlighted on several occasions the contribution that both Formula 1 and Formula E have to the automotive industry. “There is a technology transfer from both. In Formula 1, it’s about hybrid technology, sustainable fuels. And here, it’s electric vehicles, and we put a lot of effort into doing a good job, and there are interesting parts for the road cars as well,” he explained.

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Mercedes arrived at Formula E with a team of their own last season, and recently won the Drivers’ Championship with Nick De Vries, as well as the Constructors’ Championship. 

Always linked to Motorsport

Wolff began his motorsport career as a driver back in 1992, at the Austrian Formula Ford Championship. He also competed in the German Formula Ford Championship in 1993 and 1994, and won the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the latter year.

As a leader, on November 20, 2009, it was confirmed that he acquired 16% of Williams F1 Team and he joined as a director. In July 2012, he was named CEO of the British team.

In 2013, he became the new CEO and Mercedes shareholder, so he had to step down from his Williams responsibilities. Initially he remained a shareholder, although he later confirmed his intention to sell his share.

Under his leadership, the Mercedes team has been Master and Commander of Formula 1, winning uninterruptedly the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships from 2014 to 2020.

Written by I Jhonattan González

The post Toto Wolff: Successful Leader Driving Connections between Formula E and Formula 1 appeared first on Green Racing News.

Six of the current 24 Formula E drivers have contested at least one Formula 1 grand prix. Those drivers are Lucas di Grassi (18 races with Virgin in 2010), Jean-Eric Vergne (58 grands prix with Toro Rosso between 2012 and 2014), Stoffel Vandoorne (41 races with McLaren from 2016 to 2018), Sebastien Buemi (55 grands prix with Toro Rosso between 2009 and 2011) plus Porsche FE drivers Pascal Wehrlein (39 races with Manor and Sauber in 2016 and 2017) and Andre Lotterer (the 2014 Belgian GP, with Caterham).

This is how the prestigious Formula E project was born

However, the all-electric championship, which has also featured 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve and 13-time race winner Felipe Massa, increasingly draws on drivers far from Formula 1.

Teams now tend to sign low-profile drivers and sports car drivers who, instead, have completed extensive runs in simulators and have racked up many miles in private testing.

Mercedes values Formula E

Mercedes Formula E team principal Ian James estimates that since Formula E will be the FIA world championship this season, it is approaching a point where its drivers and team personnel can now go straight to F1.

“I think FE as a series is getting to a point now where we’re going to see the flow in both directions,” James said. 

“I see an opportunity there where from year to year you’ll see people moving between the two series. There are some very sound reasons for that (…) It just goes to show again as we come into season seven, our first season as a world championship, that status is well and truly deserved and serves us well for the future.”

Mercedes is entering its second season in Formula E as an official team, and has already benefited from personnel coming from Formula 1.

Former McLaren driver Vandoorne finished second last season and alongside his teammate, former 2019 Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries, made a double in the final Berlin race.

Likewise, the team works between the same high-performance powertrain locations in Brackley and Brixworth as the Mercedes F1 team.

Tony Ross, Nico Rosberg’s race engineer when he won the F1 world championship in 2016, also joined the HWA team, which was the team Mercedes competed in Formula E before becoming a factory team, and is still there.

Meanwhile, the Mahindra Racing team enters the new 2020-21 Formula E season having hired former Mercedes Chief Engineer Josef Holden.

Two-time champion Vergne has also revealed that an F1 team has offered him a comeback, while his DS Techeetah teammate Antonio Felix da Costa has already participated in an IndyCar test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after winning the 2019-2020 championship.

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