A different route to the paddock: Toto Wolff on Monaco Grand Prix week

For Toto Wolff, Monaco is not just another stop on the calendar. It’s home. As Team Principal and CEO of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Grand Prix week brings the usual hardcore schedule of world-class racing, meetings, sponsor commitments and media obligations.

Yet amid one of the busiest weeks of the season, there is still one part of the routine that feels distinctly Monaco: stepping aboard the Wajer 38 and heading for the paddock by water.

A different route to the paddock

For Wolff, the Wajer is not just reserved for summer escapes. During Monaco Grand Prix week, it also offers a unique commute, with the boat becoming part of the GP week routine. And in Monaco, where moving around the city becomes increasingly complicated as race weekend approaches, arriving by water has its advantages.

"We commute with the boat into the GP," says Wolff. "We go straight from home, jumping on the Wajer and then driving into the port and literally getting off the boat in the motorhome and the pit lane.”

“We’ve had quite some seas in the past few years, so the Wajer is a great way of staying dry,” he laughs. “But there are so many boats in the harbor, and you want to rock up there with something cool. And that’s definitely a box that the Wajer ticks.”

Monaco from the inside

For Wolff, Monaco is more than just another race on the calendar. It is the Grand Prix that arrives on his doorstep every year. "Monaco indeed changes completely during the Grand Prix. It's an iconic, historic track," agrees Wolff. "So much legacy and drama and glory for the teams and for the drivers. It is very, very special."

Yet while much of the world experiences Monaco through the spectacle of race weekend, the reality from inside Formula One looks rather different. Grand Prix week quickly becomes a blur of meetings, briefings and commitments.

"Thursday starts with a lot of stakeholder meetings," Wolff says as he talks of his agenda. "The FIA and Formula One, some of the other teams, sponsorship discussions, meet and greets, and that is pretty much how it continues throughout the weekend."

The importance of switching off

Formula One now spans 24 races across multiple continents, creating a relentless calendar that demands constant travel and attention. For Wolff, that means more than 500 hours spent traveling every year and close to 200 nights in hotels.

In an environment where performance is everything and pressure is sky-high, recovery becomes just as important. "Coming down and decompressing is an essential performance factor," he says. "You cannot just drain your energy levels all the time. That will lead to lesser performance."

For him, taking time to decompress often means spending time on the water. Boating has long been part of family life, but in recent years, his Wajer has become a regular fixture of Mediterranean summers and one of his favorite ways to switch off from the demands of the job. This season, he'll be stepping up to a new Wajer 55 S, a model that offers even greater flexibility in how he and his family like to spend time on the water.

Performance meets practicality

"The Wajer 55 opens a new way of boating for myself," he says. "It's big enough to be a proper day cruiser or even for overnight trips, but it's also small enough to go close to the shores and be in the really nice water."

The boat itself appealed for many of the same reasons people are drawn to high-performance cars: capability, reliability and design. "A boat is similar to a car or even an aircraft," agrees Wolff. "It's an expression of your personality. It's an emotional decision."

Reliability and safety are non-negotiable, with parallels between the values that matter in Formula One and the qualities he looks for in a boat. "In motor racing, in order to finish first, first you have to finish," he says. "With a Wajer, you can ride it in the high season in the Med, and the Med can be very tricky sometimes. So knowing that the safety for my family is a given when we’re on board is very important."

Summer at a slower pace

Away from Monaco, much of that boating time is spent in Sardinia, a destination the family returns to year after year. This summer, his new Wajer 55 will join the program. "We as a family love to spend time on boats, mainly in the Mediterranean. Sardinia is our favorite place."

In August, when Formula One pauses for its mandatory summer shutdown, life becomes considerably simpler - and decidedly at sea. "We’ll maybe go to shore for a cappuccino or a session of padel," he says. "Otherwise, everything happens on the boat."

For a man whose calendar is built around split-second decisions, constant travel and one of the most demanding roles in world sport, there is something refreshingly straightforward about that.

And while Monaco Grand Prix week may bring the spotlight back onto the harbor every year, for Wolff, the best way to experience it still starts on the water.