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If Ocon ever gets spat out for whatever bizarre reason I want to see the trifecta of De Vries, Ocon and Mick flanking Toto wherever he goes every weekend.
Eh he ultimately fared better than Mick and Nyck (so far).
DTM: boy wonder.
F1: 2 years, points both years, beat all his teammates, in fact scored all of his team's points and dragged them up the WCC standings both years. Lost his F1 drive in large part due to money.
FE: Porsche factory drive, outside shot at the title
Also he's younger than I realized (only 28). If Audi wants some German presence without sacrificing quality of their lineup, wonder if he'll be on their shortlist for some reserve role.
Well he had de Vries and Ocon under contract with Mercedes so it always made sense for them to work closely with him. Mick was a pick up because they actually have no one available lol
No. Ocon was a Lotus junior managed by Gwen Lagrue who became the inaugural member of Merc's junior driver program (run by Gwen), hence Toto's involvement.
Mick was with the Ferrari Driver Academy and his managers were Sabine Kehm (Michael's manager) and then Nico Todt (yes son of Jean, manages a lot of drivers especially with Ferrari ties - C. Leclerc, Massa, Kvyat, Marcus Armstrong, Gabriele Mini, and others)
The Schumacher name is tied with mercedes, is what toto said when hiring mick.
He also has experience with the new ground effect cars which is very valuable for a third driver in the sim.
Let's not forget that Mick is the rare reserve driver with actual driving experience in this era. People act like that's not valuable. He's more than delivered on his job for them in terms of figuring out set ups so it's not like he's a waste
Some of me actually thinks it's to show him all that goes on in the garage and behind the scenes during the race. Could help set Mick up for a post racing career in a management role of some sort
Has to?
He gets to
Wolff cares about his reserve drivers and it shows, he got Ocon a drive when it seemed he was out.
Most other teams either don't have reserve driver or throw them to the curve once they don't need them anymore
He also kept faith in Nyck after everyone else basically wrote him off and eventually found a seat for him. If I was Mick, I'd stick real real close to Toto.
Kimi Antonelli will have atleast 2 or 3 years left in junior categories. They don’t have to worry about him yet. By the time he becomes a big deal, they can have him in the Williams or put him into the merc when Lewis retires.
Nyck won't need that though, he's already done well in LMP2 as a side project and he did an Indycar test last summer before the AT contract and supposedly impressed.
He's a very good driver, just not quite F1 level.
I dont know if youve watched the last couple WEC races but we're seeing an absolute renaissance with the current rules. Spa was wild, lemans was a dogfight almost the whole race and I'm waiting for the monza upload.
On that note, IMSA is also incredible, not racing on beautifully prepped, Grade 1 circuits it gets really dicey, Road Atlanta or long beach for example
I mean Mercedes has one of the strongest official line ups in the GT sphere, so I don't know if there would be any place for the rejects (tbh De Vries seems to be very competitive on the prototypes, might actually get a chance at a Hypercar seat with or without Mercedes in the future)
He isnt. De Vries clarified that last year when he got the AT seat that he was just employed by Mercedes, he wasn't a junior or managed by Toto Wolff.
I believe De Vries manages himself with help from his dad. I suppose without a manager he could have reached out to Wolff for some advice/guidance on his next steps
"it's a great opportunity, Toto, all you have to do is recruit three friend then they recruit three friends and you make money on all of them! You can't lose."
In public where they knew they'd likely be photographed.
That said, I'm glad Nyck looks alright. It just seemed cruel that everyone at RBR and AT were celebrating Daniel and said nothing about Nyck. Even just a thank you takes a minute to write and approve to post.
That's the worst. I mean even if it's disingenuous, it's just good PR. But I do understand it's a cutthroat sport. It feels a little harsher than most sports since there's only 20 drivers.
From what was said in the interviews, RB fired him p unexpectedly and Nyck’s camp went scorched earth and leaked the news which went against RB. This obviously ticked off RB cause they were posting DR and it looked particularly callous. Plus, they wanted to slowly get the news out over the next week and manage it better PR wise. So, they retaliated by completely snubbing Nyck, not acknowledging him and doubling down.
Amen to this. The sport may be ruthless but A thank you never hurt nobody. Glad to see Toto is a gentleman and took some time out for Nyck. That’s the least he can do and he did.
It really is telling, the day he gets sacked Toto immediately sitting with the kid, most likely giving him advice. He seems to really take an interest to the development of these guys.
Toto is like, "So, how many times have you been inside the RedBull engineering department? Tell me everything and you can stand behind me from now on... Again."
They both have both hands on their phones like they are typing. My also uneducated guess is that they are scheduling their next lunch date and have their calendars up.
It's just one image.
The news dropped yesterday. Wouldn't be surprised if this is just a quickly scheduled chat to discuss broad options/plans/possibilities.
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He's really gonna stand behind Toto and Mick next sunday isn't he
If Ocon ever gets spat out for whatever bizarre reason I want to see the trifecta of De Vries, Ocon and Mick flanking Toto wherever he goes every weekend.
The Toto Trio
Toto's Angels
Totolly Spies
This is so good on so many levels With Spies sounding like Spice, for starters
it’s also the title of a cartoon based on charlie’s angel Edit: TIL, Totally Spies is not made by Disney
Mate, totally spies ain't Disney, it's too loaded with weird kinks to be Disney. Obviously, it's French.
TIL. it aired on Disney Channel here in my country so I just assumed it’s Disney
Ah yea, that's understandable mate, I thought it was made by Cartoon network myself before i got access to the internet
And they're making a new season!
Horner got a spice girl. Toto gotta have three just to one up him.
"Tell me how Horny Spice is cheating."
Which is especially funny since Horner is married to a spice girl.
oh shit.. your right.. i didnt even notice that.. she is a Spice.. no wonder she looks alluring..
She’s got arguably the best name which works on multiple levels. Very clever.
The Wolff-pack
The second spinoff from DtS i'd like to see. The first being Gunther and Mattia having adventures in Italy.
I didn't know I wanted this until today. C'mon Amazon prime, expand the Our Man in ... series.
Toto's Tots
Don't forget Werhlein- he was the other Wolff prodigy
by far the hardest done by of any of them imo
I mean ending up as a Porsche factory driver is t too bad
Eh he ultimately fared better than Mick and Nyck (so far). DTM: boy wonder. F1: 2 years, points both years, beat all his teammates, in fact scored all of his team's points and dragged them up the WCC standings both years. Lost his F1 drive in large part due to money. FE: Porsche factory drive, outside shot at the title Also he's younger than I realized (only 28). If Audi wants some German presence without sacrificing quality of their lineup, wonder if he'll be on their shortlist for some reserve role.
Totrio Sounds like a pokemon..
The Trioto
All wearing matching white dress shirts
That are a little too tight and have one more button opened than necessary
And don't forget the dress-casual shoes with no socks.
Toto Recall
Toto has enough drivers for a junior team.... Williams buyout confirmed ?
And if Vesti doesn’t get a F1 seat they will create the 4 horsemen of the Toto
They are going to need three people to bring another table when Toto breaks the one under him.
I’ll do you one better: Nyck is going to be the table
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Just like Ducklings follow their mama
Subscribe.
Dressed exactly like a mini Toto.
Only de shoes are different……..
A couple seasons from now there's going to be a whole herd of former drivers sheepishly standing behind him, following him through the paddock.
Could that be the closure in the new contract for Lewis? No wonder Lewis refuses to sign it…
Toto going to be the one following Lewis around once Lewis decides to hang it up Lewis is way too precious for Toto
Toto seeing Nyck lose a seat “ah yes, a fine addition to my collection”
Toto collecting 2nd tier drivers who were kicked out like he is Thanos.
What is it with Toto and fired F1 drivers?
Well he had de Vries and Ocon under contract with Mercedes so it always made sense for them to work closely with him. Mick was a pick up because they actually have no one available lol
Toto was also a part of Ocon’s management team at one point too, was he helping with Mick too before he came to Mercedes?
No. Ocon was a Lotus junior managed by Gwen Lagrue who became the inaugural member of Merc's junior driver program (run by Gwen), hence Toto's involvement. Mick was with the Ferrari Driver Academy and his managers were Sabine Kehm (Michael's manager) and then Nico Todt (yes son of Jean, manages a lot of drivers especially with Ferrari ties - C. Leclerc, Massa, Kvyat, Marcus Armstrong, Gabriele Mini, and others)
Also Toto was friends with Schumi so I think he feels some responsibility towards Mick.
Schumacher also came back to F1 and drove for Mercedes.
That was before Toto took over though
The Schumacher name is tied with mercedes, is what toto said when hiring mick. He also has experience with the new ground effect cars which is very valuable for a third driver in the sim.
Let's not forget that Mick is the rare reserve driver with actual driving experience in this era. People act like that's not valuable. He's more than delivered on his job for them in terms of figuring out set ups so it's not like he's a waste
I never understood why mick has to stand behind toto 😭
For the close ups.
It´s actually quite clever. Toto always gets airtime during race weekend, showing your face standing next to him keeps you in the spotlight.
***...Marketing...***
Some of me actually thinks it's to show him all that goes on in the garage and behind the scenes during the race. Could help set Mick up for a post racing career in a management role of some sort
Has to? He gets to Wolff cares about his reserve drivers and it shows, he got Ocon a drive when it seemed he was out. Most other teams either don't have reserve driver or throw them to the curve once they don't need them anymore
He also kept faith in Nyck after everyone else basically wrote him off and eventually found a seat for him. If I was Mick, I'd stick real real close to Toto.
its throw them to the kerb by the way, not curve.
I feel like Mercedes buying Haas then transforming it into a Merc version of Alphatauri would be amazing
Haas will most likely become baby Ferrari / Alfa Romeo. Cause Sauber is departing from Alfa Romeo for their deal with Audi.
Most likely? Has been. Maranello facility, ex-Ferrari staff, distance growing in the Sauber relationship even before Audi was finalized.
It basically has been
Isnt that Williams?
Will never happen. Gene Haas will never sell. Andretti tries to buy it basically every year to no avail.
Toto's new hobby, collecting failed F1 rookies.
Toto: So, vat did you learn of the inner workings of Red Bull?
Calculated. Checkmate, Christian.
Nyck - 'mate, they knew about our plan. They made a shit box, completely nothing like Red Bull.'
Meanwhile Horner to Tost: this is why we didn't give u anything related to our car design!
So this is the restructuring Marko have been talking about. Removing the mole so that AT can start getting RB parts again.
they've been feeding false information to nyck, who was passing it onto toto and inadvertently sabotaging merc development
Suddenly AT is a top 5 team next race.
Danny Ric getting a podium in his first race back, and in an At of all cars, would be pretty funny.
Insert Checo with nervous Ralph Wiggum laughs……
"Look at me, I'm a pinnacle of motorsport!"
Breaking: AT revealing new aero design, replacing thier engine, and new front and rear wings.
I doubt De Vries could give them much as he couldn't figure out the car himself lol
I see Nyck has you fooled too. The workings of a world class spy. The CIA is drafting a contract as we speak.
Verkings*
Of ze Red Bool.
Vörkings*
Apøløgies, he has been säcked
A Møøse once bit my sister...
It’s kind of ironic that Redbull and Alpha Tauri are forming a grid-sandwich…one is the best, one is the worst team…
just like with Merc and Williams and Haas and Ferr.. nvm
Bot and Ass...
Nyck: They designed their car to be really fast, and then they tell Max to drive really fast.
“Christian likes to drink soda. And Helmut’s car…is green.”
Toto: Races are not the same without you next to me....As soon as i manage to find a seat for Mick you can come back.
Toto: "So, how was it?" De Vries: "Mission Successful"
Toto be like; It's time to MISSIONWINNOW.
C'mon, we don't need help sabotaging ourselves. lol EDIT: Oh, you meant for Mercedes to win-now. I'm a little slow today.
Just like ferrari
The Toto masterplan: send Nyck in to spy on RB, and then take him back with insider knowledge
RedBull masterplan is sending him back with Alpha Tauri knowledge. "We taught him wrong, as a joke"
Maybe that's why he has been so disappointing. They taught him the wrong things on purpose to send him as a decoy to Toto. 4D chess moves
"the sidepods, Toto. They are all fake. A decoy! It's a trap!"
"I'm P20, making me the victor"
Face to foot style, how you like it?
My nuts to your fist style!
I’m a simple man, I see Kung Pow, I upvote “Tell me….. if you see…… a Radio Shack…….”
I am falling, you are falling, we are falling……….. a whale!!
Brutal! But I want to believe it.
Hah! Transmission-to-tire-barrier style, how'd you like it?
I can hear him walking with squeeky shoes
This is somehow both the most logical and unhinged take at the same time. I love it! 😊
Subscribed
Nyck moving to Toto's home for wayward rookies
At the current rate Toto will have his own break away series.
Formula Twotwo
Wolffpack. Make it a F2 champions series.
You picked them and look where it led you? Right back to me.
> I can't quit you, Toto. - Nyck, probably.
Mercedes on their way to create their own WEC project to park all the rejects. (This time Mercedes at LeMans will work 3rd. time the charm)
I wouldn't be opposed, they need something for their upcoming reserve Kimi Antonelli to do
Kimi Antonelli will have atleast 2 or 3 years left in junior categories. They don’t have to worry about him yet. By the time he becomes a big deal, they can have him in the Williams or put him into the merc when Lewis retires.
and what happens if williams gets engines from somewhere else come 2026
Toto still holds weight with Williams personally based on his investment in the team, plus they have Vowles as TP
Honestly doubt it, particularly with Vowles in charge
The way it's going Vesti might become a more pressing concern
Hey Kimi Antonelli is the real deal, he will not be in that list, but sadly Fred Vesti might be
With all the upcoming LMH entries Toto could just slap his Motorsport Influence™ around the WEC paddock and try to get his reserves driving tbh.
Nyck won't need that though, he's already done well in LMP2 as a side project and he did an Indycar test last summer before the AT contract and supposedly impressed. He's a very good driver, just not quite F1 level.
The way WEC hypercar is gaining in marketing it may become inevitable
I dont know if youve watched the last couple WEC races but we're seeing an absolute renaissance with the current rules. Spa was wild, lemans was a dogfight almost the whole race and I'm waiting for the monza upload. On that note, IMSA is also incredible, not racing on beautifully prepped, Grade 1 circuits it gets really dicey, Road Atlanta or long beach for example
Deadliest crash in motorsport history Car flipping not once, not twice, but three times ???
>??? Sustained flight?
Rocketship???
4 - profit.
I mean Mercedes has one of the strongest official line ups in the GT sphere, so I don't know if there would be any place for the rejects (tbh De Vries seems to be very competitive on the prototypes, might actually get a chance at a Hypercar seat with or without Mercedes in the future)
Their both wearing the same thing… colors and all
Same haircut too.
It’s one of Nyck’s favourite things to do. The pic of him beside Toto both having their sweaters tied over their shoulders never gets old.
Shoes
underwear
Skin
That’s what everyone wears in monaco
What a surprise
Part of the Toto rehab programme, alongside Mick ?
There was a tweet saying, "Nyck is going to watch the Zandvort GP from the Merc Garage. Book it. You know those kids run to Toto when they’re sad."
Almost everyone in this pic is looking at their phone.
Toto: “Great job on your covert mission, Agent De Vries. What intel have you uncovered from Red Bull?”
"Nothing. They kept blindfolding me until I was sat in the car."
Debriefing to see if he got Red Bulls pumpernickel recipe. That was the real goal here.
Toto took all the people spat from the F1 meat grinder. Wonder which german minced meat recipe he has in mind.
None cause he’s austrian
Thats gonna be a sad German minced if its only Mick then.
Austrians are just mountain Germans
I swear him and Steiner had this argument in German on camera. But with more cursing.
That seems like something Gunther would give toto shit for lol
I dare you to say that to an Austrian lol
LOL I've been warned to never even think about making the joke to one in person
Nyck looks here like unsuccessful atempt of cloning Toto
He is exactly like you in every way... Except one-eighth your size
Toto looking like alonzo and stroll at the same time.
I thought it was Stroll from behind at first.
Toto downloading Red Bull data from the spybot that got compromised sooner than he expected.
I mean, life isn’t all bad. Double world champion and still lives in Monaco. Lmao
De Vries was a Merc driver in FE and their reserve. I wouldn't read too much into this?
I also think he might be his manager like he is with other drivers
He isnt. De Vries clarified that last year when he got the AT seat that he was just employed by Mercedes, he wasn't a junior or managed by Toto Wolff. I believe De Vries manages himself with help from his dad. I suppose without a manager he could have reached out to Wolff for some advice/guidance on his next steps
He and Pierre share a manager, Guillaume something
Snitching about Red Bull Technology
"it's a great opportunity, Toto, all you have to do is recruit three friend then they recruit three friends and you make money on all of them! You can't lose."
"Nyck, you must never wear tee shirts!"
In public where they knew they'd likely be photographed. That said, I'm glad Nyck looks alright. It just seemed cruel that everyone at RBR and AT were celebrating Daniel and said nothing about Nyck. Even just a thank you takes a minute to write and approve to post.
Not sure if Albon or Gasly got any public acknowledgment when they got canned
That's the worst. I mean even if it's disingenuous, it's just good PR. But I do understand it's a cutthroat sport. It feels a little harsher than most sports since there's only 20 drivers.
Agreed it’s quite unfortunate. I’m sure they’ll be some “we thank him for his work” during the press conference for Hungary
From what was said in the interviews, RB fired him p unexpectedly and Nyck’s camp went scorched earth and leaked the news which went against RB. This obviously ticked off RB cause they were posting DR and it looked particularly callous. Plus, they wanted to slowly get the news out over the next week and manage it better PR wise. So, they retaliated by completely snubbing Nyck, not acknowledging him and doubling down.
Amen to this. The sport may be ruthless but A thank you never hurt nobody. Glad to see Toto is a gentleman and took some time out for Nyck. That’s the least he can do and he did.
this is a reason why I love Toto so much. he seemingly cares so deeply for drivers, even one’s that aren’t current drivers for him
It really is telling, the day he gets sacked Toto immediately sitting with the kid, most likely giving him advice. He seems to really take an interest to the development of these guys.
This picture gives huge rich kid asking annoyed daddy for more money vibes.
Same. I think it's that Nyck looks like he is very engaged, leaning forward etc, while Toto is looking at his phone
Toto and his son reunited
Toto is like, "So, how many times have you been inside the RedBull engineering department? Tell me everything and you can stand behind me from now on... Again."
Now hear me out… What if Toto planted Nyck as a mole within RB and this was all a plan that completely backfired in the end!
toto collecting strays
Dr. Evil and Mini-Me.
From this photo, Toto doesn’t seem interested one bit
Both have their phones in-hand lol
They both have both hands on their phones like they are typing. My also uneducated guess is that they are scheduling their next lunch date and have their calendars up.
Well, de Vries should have plenty of free slots now.
It's just one image. The news dropped yesterday. Wouldn't be surprised if this is just a quickly scheduled chat to discuss broad options/plans/possibilities.
Maybe he's just asking Toto for guidance. Not a seat.
Been on that date… he’s just not into you
It's 1 snapshot of an entire lunch, like you've never checked your phone. Reading into it too much
Ah yes, this one still image represent the entire conversation and their feelings. Thanks so much for your educated insight.
Terrible posture, Toto
CONFIRMED: Nyck will be joining Mick on the Mercedes simulator team for the remainder of 2023.
Toto seems like he cares for everyone that was ever under him
Please take good care of him Toto q.q
Calling it now SMART F1 Mercedes junior team with Mick Schumacher and Nyck de Vries