Mercedes boss Toto Wolff absent from Imola GP for touching personal reason

Wolff will not be present in the paddock for Kimi Antonelli’s first home race

Toto Wolff will not be present on-site in Imola (Getty Images)

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will be absent from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to his son graduating from college this weekend.

Wolff, who has missed races in the past and was not in the paddock at the Japanese GP last month, will not attend Kimi Antonelli’s first F1 home race in Imola.

Wolff’s 23-year-old eldest son Benedict, one of his children from his previous marriage, is graduating from the University of Southern California and the Austrian executive has decided to stay in the United States.

Mercedes team representative Bradley Lord, Wolff’s long-term right-hand man, will take on the Austrian’s duties in the garage and with the press.

Wolff, married to F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff, has missed races in past years, at venues such as Suzuka and Brazil, but it is unusual for the 53-year-old to miss a European event.

With F1’s 24-race calendar at a record high, Wolff has spoken in the past about the prospect of missing more races on-site.

“The clear aim is to build a structure for the future and that is my sheer responsibility for the team,” Wolff said in 2023.

“A stone could fall on my head and how does it look afterwards? That is why I would like to see myself in a few years maybe not going to 24 races, and just to 15.

Kimi Antonelli races for the first time as an F1 driver in Italy this weekend (Getty)

“But that is many years away. I see myself in this role for a long time. I cannot imagine doing something else.

“I really struggled in 2020 to make a decision on whether I wanted to stay active in the sport or to be a shareholder and go back to my finance world. I was tired, mentally and physically, but then I came to the realisation that I wanted to continue.

“I feel I am contributing to the team in the crossover world of finance and motor racing, and I have a passion for both, and that is why I continue to do it.”

Antonelli is sixth in the championship heading into this weekend, while teammate George Russell is in fourth – 38 points off leader Oscar Piastri.