Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is pleased to see the cancellation of the originally planned team principals’ parade ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
Initially pencilled into the weekend was a lap on the back of a truck, much like the drivers, for the team bosses to wave to the fans and provide them with more interaction with their favourite teams.
This was removed after fans on social media pointed out the peculiar addition to the planned action in Florida, and Wolff does not think the team principals should be the focal point ahead of the race.
READ: Russell had Bottas incident in the back of his mind last weekend
“I’d rather avoid [it],” he said, as quoted by GPFans.
“I don’t think that team principals or team owners should be waving at the fans. I love the fans but it should be the drivers who are in the forefront. They are the athlete, the gladiators in the machines, and not any of us.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner previously commented that commercial interest in Formula 1 is at an “all-time high” after the thrilling championship battle between his team and Mercedes last season, and Wolff is a fan of the greater media frenzy around the sport that has been cultivated as a result of Sir Lewis Hamilton’s battle with Max Verstappen as well as the addition of Drive to Survive on Netflix.
“The media attention is something which we need to be very grateful for,” he explained.
“The sport is booming, the audiences are going up, commercial revenue is going up and we need to have the utmost effort to satisfy the demands of the media and satisfy the demands of the fans.
“I find that great and something that I am proud of.”
READ: Rosberg warns Mercedes: ‘It’s quite easy for Lewis to lose it’
Mercedes’ form has wavered this season under the new technical regulations that have caused them an abundance of issues – namely “porpoising” – and they have subsequently fallen 47 points behind championship leaders Ferrari.
George Russell recovered to an impressive fourth on Sunday following a tricky weekend for the Silver Arrows, while Sir Lewis Hamilton spent over 40 laps stuck behind Pierre Gasly, eventually coming home P13.
The Austrian joked in his post-race media session that there was likely a lot more activity at the Maranello outfit.
“There are not many of you here in the debrief call. Probably there are more in the Ferrari session,” he quipped.
The Miami Grand Prix will be Formula 1’s second visit to Florida since the world championship began in 1950, with Sebring having held the 1959 United States Grand Prix.