Toto Wolff refers to Man United's failures, sheds light on Mercedes' F1 championship run

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has revealed that he studied Premier League club Manchester United to learn what it takes for successful teams to continue winning titles and maintain their winning form. As reported by Planet F1, during a recent interview, the Austrian mentioned legendary football manager Sir Alex Ferguson, while crediting him for changing Manchester United along with English Football in his 26-year-long tenure with the club. 

While United went on to win a staggering no. of 38 trophies under the iconic Scottish manager from 1986 to 2013, which also includes 13 Premier League titles. On the other hand, Mercedes have enjoyed the most success under team principal Wolff, having won a total of seven drivers championships and eight constructors championships “I studied why great teams were not able to repeat great title [runs],” Wolff said while naming Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

'The human gets complacent,' says Toto Wolff

Ever since Ferguson left the team, they haven’t been able to fill the void as the current manager Erik ten Hag, is the fifth full-time manager for the team since 2013. “No sports team in any sport has ever won eight consecutive World Championship titles and there are many reasons for that, and what is at the core is the human. The human gets complacent. You are not energised in the same way you were before. You are maybe not as ambitious,” Wolff added. 

Sir Alex Ferguson and Toto Wolff are the most successful managers in their sport

Toto Wolff and Sir Alex Ferguson can be considered two of the most successful managers for their teams in their respective sports. Although the 50-year-old Austrian is far behind the Scot in terms of legacy, he is the second most successful team manager in Formula 1, after the legendary Frank Williams.

Wolff took charge of the Mercedes F1 team in 2014 and led the team to its first driver championship win with Lewis Hamilton, since 1955. The team has continued to enjoy success, having won eight consecutive F1 constructors championships since 2014, while Hamilton missed out on his 7th F1 drivers' championship win with Mercedes in 2021. In the meantime, United continued to struggle after Ferguson’s exit and still seeking a major title win.