Toto Wolff acknowledges tariffs storm: 'It's a very dynamic situation'
The global financial climate is very uncertain, something that concerns the FIA, FOM and the F1 teams. Mercedes team principal and CEO, Toto Wolff, states US's new tariffs 'storm' have not hit them yet, and reaffirms the German brand's committment to F1.
The FIA, in recent meetings with FOM and the F1 teams, has expressed their desire to look after the health of Formula One focusing also on the financial side, which was one of the factors that prompted all of F1's stakeholders to resume conversations regarding the engine regulations for 2026 even.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing's team principal, previously stated that the tariffs could have a huge impact in F1, particularly for engine manufacturers, which Red Bull are set to become as of 2026 when they're partnership with Ford hits the track for the very first time.
The Briton was quite vocal in his plea for a more cost effective F1 engine, echoing the words of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Head of Single Seaters, Nikolas Tombazis.
Toto Wolff, spoke about the US tariffs to media present at Jeddah, including GPblog, and conveyed the uncertainty that has engulfed some of Mercedes' partners.
"My background is finance and that's why I'm looking at this, what's happening. What's panning out in front of our eyes on a global level is almost like a socio-economic experiment. It's quite entertaining to be reading CNN and Fox News and trying to figure out what's actually happening."
'Negative sentiments so far for partners, but it hasn't hit Mercedes yet'
"So far you clearly see a negative sentiment of some of our partners in the US because they don't know what it means for their businesses, how the tariffs and geopolitical situation is going to impact them. It hasn't hit us yet."
Wolff then pointed to the Merceds Group's CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management, Ola Kallenius, with confidence, and reaffirmed the German brand's committment to F1.
"We have a group of great partners and Mercedes-Benz stands 100% behind Formula 1. Ola is certainly having his hands full trying to navigate the ship through this storm — there is no other person than him to do this. So it's even more frustrating that we're having weekends like this because I was hoping to cheer him up a little bit at least on a Sunday."
"But it's a very dynamic situation. In terms of the auto tariffs, we're fortunate we have production in the US as well, so we have a strong footprint there under the circumstances."
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