Mercedes drop Toto Wolff clip ahead of him missing race

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is set to miss the Japanese Grand Prix to undergo knee surgery in Austria.

With no Formula 1 this weekend, Mercedes have thought outside the box to keep their fans entertained, by posting a video of team principal Toto Wolff.

Mercedes’ social media admin posted a clip of the Austrian surfing, at least until he fell into the sea at the end of the clip.

Considering the Mercedes boss has an upcoming surgery, perhaps surfing wasn’t the greatest of ideas!

Wolff recently revealed that he wouldn’t be attending the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks, due to him returning to Austria for knee surgery.

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He requires knee surgery following a mountain biking crash he had during the recent summer break, which has left him needing a knee brace.

Ex-Formula 1 driver Jerome D’Ambrosio will replace the team principal at Suzuka, although Wolff will be in attendance at the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix.

Mercedes will be very keen to show better pace at the Marina Bay Circuit than they recently did at the Italian Grand Prix, where they were disappointing.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had to settle for fifth and sixth at Monza, as Mercedes were comfortably third in the pecking order.

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Red Bull and Ferrari were both much stronger than the Brackley-based team at the low downforce circuit, leaving Mercedes well outside of the podium fight.

Low downforce circuits have been Mercedes’ downfall this season so far, with the W14 being much better suited to high downforce venues.

Based on that, the Singapore GP should be a much better event for the Silver Arrows, although Red Bull and Ferrari were both strong there last season.

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Should Ferrari be strong in Singapore, then Mercedes might need to start looking over their shoulder in the battle for second in the Constructors’ Championship.

Mercedes currently hold P2 and are 45 points ahead of Ferrari, although with eight races remaining there is plenty of time for the Maranello-based team to catch the Silver Arrows.

Both Mercedes and Ferrari will be hoping to claim a win at the very least before the season ends, to stop Red Bull from going the entire campaign unbeaten.