Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff revealed just how well himself and new Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur know each other, by sharing a hilarious story about the Frenchman.
Vasseur and Wolff have known one another for many years, to the point where Vasseur used to stay at the Austrian’s home in England when he was briefly working for Renault in 2016.
Vasseur was even invited to Wolff’s and Susie Wolff’s wedding, where he embarrassingly ate a plastic decoration.
“First of all I’ve known Fred since a long time pre-racing, and he ate the flower decoration at my wedding, only to find out that it was plastic,” Wolff revealed to F1TV.
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“So we go a long way back.”
Wolff and Vasseur have both been asked how their friendship will be affected by the Frenchman’s new role at Ferrari, given that Mercedes are one of the Italians rivals.
How the duo interacts with each other when their drivers do battle on-track remains to be seen, given that both Ferrari and Mercedes endured a disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz was Ferrari’s only finisher in fourth, with Charles Leclerc having retired following an issue with his power unit.
Lewis Hamilton was Mercedes’ best performer in fifth, whilst George Russell finished seventh, with neither driver having had the pace to challenge Sainz or Leclerc, prior to his retirement.
With the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix set to suit Mercedes better, then perhaps Wolff versus Vasseur will be seen for the first time.
Vasseur previously admitted that himself and Wolff will need “to be clever” when it comes to managing their friendship, but that actually it could be “an advantage” for them.
“We are not speaking any more!” Vasseur joked to Autosport.
“I think globally, it’s an advantage, but we have to be clever,” he said.
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“I know that we will fight on track, we will fight with the stewards, we will fight in the FIA, and we will fight for the Concorde Agreement. This is life.
“But, at the end of the day, I think for the global picture, it’s an advantage also to have a very good collaboration between teams.
“And on this side, when the common interest of the teams or F1 will be to have discussions and to find an agreement, I think it will be a huge advantage to have a good relationship.”