Toto Wolff has revealed that he will not accompany Formula 1 to Japan, following a week after the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix.
A few years back, the head of Mercedes mentioned that due to the increasingly packed F1 schedule, he might “begin to miss some races.”
He previously opted out of the Suzuka race last year and was also absent for the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2019.
However, speaking to Kronen Zeitung, Wolff clarified that his decision to not attend the Japan GP is due to a planned knee operation.
He described to the Austrian publication that he is presently unable to fully straighten his left arm because of a mountain biking mishap during the August hiatus.
“I rode over slippery rocks,” Wolff stated. “It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle it, but I wanted to support myself with my left leg – and it just snapped because I no longer have a cruciate ligament.
“After Singapore I’m going to the Hochrum Clinic (in Austria), where I will get a new ligament. Then I can do everything I want to again.
“I’ll miss Japan, then I have a free weekend following that. I hope to be walking around in Qatar without crutches. Then skiing this winter is even a possibility,” he continued.
Wolff disclosed in August that should he ever be missing from grand prix events, his role will be filled by the newly-appointed Mercedes deputy chief, Jerome d’Ambrosio, a past F1 racer.
