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The usually cool, calm, and collected Toto Wolff was consumed with fury as he watched the F1 world title slip through his fingers

Dec 13, 2021, 22:14 IST
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The many faces of Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.Screenshots/Sky Sports F1
  • Toto Wolff is known for being one of the calmest men in F1, but as this season hotted up, so did he.
  • Wolff's fury came to a head on the final lap of Sunday's Abu Dhabi GP as Lewis Hamilton lost the world title.
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is known for his calm and calculated attitude, but Sunday's season-defining race showed another side of him.

Wolff watched as a controversial late call from the stewards saw the Formula One world drivers title slip through Lewis Hamilton's fingers.

The Mercedes team boss took particular issue with the manner of the safety car restart, saying down the radio to race director Michael Masi: "Michael, this isn't right," after the decision to allow a lap of racing was made.

He added an extra, frustrated "Michaellll," for good measure.

As the safety car came in and Max Verstappen and Hamilton battled on track, Wolff could then be heard complaining once again.

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"No Michael, no, no, no! That was so not right," Wolff screamed down the radio. Just seconds earlier he was show by TV cameras angrily pacing the Mercedes garage before putting on his headset and making the complaint.

Later after Verstappen had crossed the line, Wolff again took to the radio. This time, he asked that the race order from the previous lap be reinstated.

"You need to reinstate the lap before, that's not right," Wolff said.

"Toto, it's called a motor race, okay?" Masi replied.

Wolff then said "Sorry?"

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An exasperated-sounding Masi answered back: "We went car racing."

Michael Masi (center) was the man Wolff was complaining to.Mark Thompson/Getty Images, Clive Mason/Getty Images and Andrej Isakovic - Pool/Getty Images

The Mercedes team boss then refused to take part in his post-race press conference dutie, and reportedly did not leave his garage when Christian Horner came to shake his hand.

The meltdown was not the first time viewers have seen Wolff lose his composure in a fraught, extremely intense F1 season.

At the previous race, the 49-year-old was pictured slamming his headphones into his desk when Hamilton and Verstappen collided on track.

Remarkably the headphones survived.@F1/Twitter

Earlier at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, he angrily pointed at the camera and shouted "yes!" when Hamilton overtook Verstappen, while during the same race weekend he said: "Fuck them all," after Hamilton had produced a storming performance in the sprint qualifying race.

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