Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that former Red Bull COO Jayne Poole has been a “great addition” to the Silver Arrows this season, following her move from Milton Keynes.
It was revealed by Motorsport.com ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix that Mercedes had managed to poach Poole from Red Bull, to become their new special advisor.
Wolff believes Poole played a “very large part” in Red Bull’s recent success and that the Austrian has wanted to sign her for a “very long time”, with Wolff having jumped at the opportunity once Poole became available.
The Mercedes boss shared how much Poole has already improved the Silver Arrows and how she’s “created forensic profiles” of people to target in the paddock, meaning the Germans know exactly whom to sign going forward.
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“Jayne is a person that I admired over the last 10 years, that I got to know 10 years ago, and I always had a very respectful relationship with,” said Wolff, as reported by Motorsport.com.
“She worked for the competitor, but you can respect people working for a competitor and acknowledge their performance. Her role at Red Bull was, in my opinion, a very large part of the success of the team over the last years.
“That relationship came to an end, like many relationships come to a natural end. I wanted to hire Jayne for a long time, but it was just never an option. And then it became now.
“She’s a great addition. She has a lot of know-how, she’s a great psychologist, she has seen another organisation, she knows everybody pretty much, and she has created forensic profiles of all of the good people in Formula 1. Having her eyes is a very, very strong edge to the organisation.”
Wolff went on to discuss how getting an “outside perspective” can often be key to success, despite the billionaire having led Mercedes to eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships.
Poole has seemingly played this role perfectly, with Wolff recognising the importance of “fresh eyes”.
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“Now and then, if an organisation becomes mature and follows its processes and strategies, and it’s successful, you need to get an outside perspective, and you need to shake it up,” said Wolff.
“You don’t want to reinvent it, but you want to consider whether yesterday’s assumptions are still competitive enough going forward. And therefore, having somebody come in with fresh eyes, looking at it in a very neutral way, is beneficial.
“So, from time to time, even in a successful organisation, you need to parachute good external people in, because they help you to do the next step.”