Wolff skips Imola to attend son's graduation

The reason is that Wolff's 23-year-old son, Benedict, is graduating from the University of Southern California this weekend.

This is not the first time Wolff has skipped a race, and he has been insisting that he plans to build a structure within his team to make sure it runs properly in his absence.

He said back in 2023: "The clear aim is to build a structure for the future, and that is my sheer responsibility for the team.

"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.

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

And while he is away, Wolff made sure he spoke to his drivers via video call to give them some support, especially Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes' rookie who this weekend will make his debut as a Formula 1 driver in front of his home fans, so the Austrian made sure to give him a boost of morale.

Wolff is currently married to F1 Academy boss Susie with whom has a son Jack. Benedict is his son from an earlier marriage to Stephanie Wolff. He also shares a daughter called Rosa with Stephanie.