Toto Wolff Defends F1 Superiority, Slams Balance of Performance in Le Mans
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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While several F1 teams, such as Alpine and Ferrari, have fielded cars in the World Endurance Championship, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has explained why the German manufacturer has stayed away from the iconic Hypercar class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Mercedes parted ways with the Le Mans race after a major accident in 1999, where the car flipped dangerously after taking off at high speed due to aerodynamic problems. Currently, the team's presence is limited to the GT3 class.
While Wolff acknowledged the glory of Le Mans, he revealed his bias towards F1, considering it is the top tier of motorsports. Despite declaring that all other forms of racing come second to F1, he addressed the possibility of returning to Le Mans on the Bloomberg Hot Pursuit podcast. He said:
Toto Wolff, Executive Director of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team on a scooter prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 20, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Toto Wolff, Executive Director of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team on a scooter prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 20, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia."Le Mans... I'm a racer. The Le Mans 24 Hours is one of the greatest races in the world.
"Formula 1, for me - obviously I'm biased - is the best there is. It's the best drivers, the quickest cars, the greatest tracks. But if I had to say what's next? Le Mans 24 Hours and the Indy 500. And then, for insiders, the Nürburgring 24 Hours. That, for me, is the top of the top.
"What it is for me today is, we are concentrating on the main platform, and that is Formula 1. It's what we want to do. It captures 99% of the audience. Everything else comes second."
Wolff then explained the hurdle that was preventing Mercedes from racing in Le Mans - the Balance of Power (BoP) rule, which prioritizes fairness in competition by ensuring all cars are as equal as possible within a class. He added:
"As Mercedes, it's something that we've done in the past, but we weren't particularly... that wasn't our happiest place.
"And then there's the little caveat to all this: at Mercedes, we are racing people. We don't like BoPs - we don't like Balance of Performance. We don't like somebody assessing your power, your energy consumption, your weight, your driver skill...
"You spend so much time and money and effort developing the quickest car, and then you're being given 10 kilogrammes of ballast. I don't want that. I just want to build the quickest car."
Wolff reckoned that a budget cap, like the one in F1, makes more sense to have a level playing field. He explained:
"Formula 1 has shown how it should be done. Give us a cost cap. Do more of that - give everybody a cost cap. You cannot spend more than - whatever you said - 30-40 million. And within this 30-40 million, you can do what you want. I mean, there are still regulations, but nobody needs to bluff in pre-season testing or qualifying. It's pure racing.
"If that were to happen, then Le Mans would absolutely be something we would look at. But at the moment, with BoP - having some officials judge whether you're too quick, adding 10 kilogrammes to your car or taking it out of someone else's the next day - that's not for us at the moment."
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