Mercedes Formula 1 chief Toto Wolff is known for his obsessive attention to detail and pursuit of perfection and his daily routine away from the track is no different
Toto Wolff is a man with an eye for detail – and the Austrian has an extraordinary daily routine that’s as regimented as his Mercedes team’s race strategies. The 53-year-old, who steered his squad to eight constructors’ championships on the trot, is a stickler for routine.
And that is even the case when it comes to his diet. In a revealing interview with the BBC, Wolff once shared the lengths he goes to in order to maintain focus during the gruelling F1 calendar, which these days spans March to December and features 24 Grand Prix weekends, six of which have a second, shorter Sprint race.
He told the Desert Island Discs radio programme: “For me it is really reducing trivial things. I am wearing the same clothes, I am eating the same food – even to the point that my assistants book the same hotel room for me every single year.”
Wolff’s dedication to simplicity extends to his breakfast choice, where he opts for “the same dark bread, pumpernickel with butter and some ham.” But it doesn’t stop there – his coffee ritual and meal plan are just as meticulous.
He elaborated: “Small cappuccino, because I take half a cappuccino because I want to have another half an hour later, and then it is chicken breast with tomato salad [for lunch]. And I have the same for dinner also.”
He repeated the same dietary routine to Forbes last year, stating that he sticks to the same meal twice a day to avoid upsetting his system. The executive prefers to concentrate on his team’s performance, which has been trailing behind McLaren and Ferrari this season.
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Wolff also has the responsibility of securing Mercedes’ drivers for the upcoming season, with the contracts of both team leader George Russell and 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli expiring at the end of the year as it stands, though both drivers are expected to sign renewals.
Despite Wolff’s dedication to excellence both personally and within Mercedes, the Brackley-based team has been lagging behind their rivals in recent seasons, since changes in the car regulations in 2021. Red Bull adapted fastest and were the ones to knock the Silver Arrows off their perch.
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However, McLaren, led on track by drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, have since stepped up to the plate. The Woking-based outfit has been dominant this year in its quest for back-to-back constructors’ titles while one of Norris or Piastri will surely become the drivers’ champion for the first time.
Mercedes hope to make a comeback in 2026 by getting a boost through another change in regulations, which will see new engines introduced into F1. They last time that happened was in 2014, when they built by far the best power unit and used that as a platform for their eight-in-a-row streak in the constructors’.
