Wolff: I struggled badly with mental health issues

Other than that moment when Wolff smashed his headphones on his desk during the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, one of several dramatic episodes from the Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen saga that season, and a few other moments that season, the Mercedes Formula 1 boss has usually been composed and in control.

Despite Mercedes' struggles since 2022, the start of the current F1 regulations, after their dominant years (2014-2021) and while evidently and understandably being livid, the Austrian did not lose his composure.

However, speaking to Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle, Wolff admitted life was not always rosy for him, despite his huge success as a businessman before his success as and F1 boss, and revealed he, like any person fell prey to mental health issues, and needed to work hard on that.

He said: "I have struggled so badly with these things [mental health issues], for months not being able to have a clear thought but I came to the realization that it comes with a lot of advantages.

"I call it a superpower. This is what I want to give people that have mental health issues as a hope," he added. "I was thinking when I was really bad at times, 'that person hasn't got what I have', and that's why that person can be more successful."

Following a brief racing career, Wolff started his own business at an early age and was successful immediately, and after cashing out on his business he became part of the elite group of people who called Monaco home, after which he invested in F1 with Williams in 2009 where he became an executive director in 2012. He jumped ship to Mercedes in 2013, becoming a shareholder and team boss, and the rest as we say is history.

However, Wolff revealed an insightful moment while attending his first Monaco Grand Prix weekend as a guest which gave him insight on a group of people which he would become a member of later on in his life, and a hugely successful one as well.

"One very important moment came to me. I was successful with my business, I sold it and moved to Monaco. I was in my late 20s and there was a Grand Prix," he said.

"There was a party and I was there as a guest of someone and I saw these very successful people having a party and I thought, 'they don't suffer, in a way I do, that's why they are successful'.

"Twenty years later, I've broken those records and I would never have imagined that," he admitted. "What I want to say is with that superpower, when you struggle, you are a sensitive person, and that can be negative or very positive.

"Some of the strengths come from reading the room, understanding a person and seeing through a person, calling bullsh!t when it needs to be called. I generally have a feeling for what people need in order to perform.

"That's why I speak openly about it. That's why us in F1, laughing at the camera, being so cold, successful, we have struggles. It's not every day we wake up and say what a great life we have," the 52-year-old insisted.

Being part of the piranha pool that is F1, sometimes one needs outside help, something Wolff was not shy to pursue, he said: "I always seek help. I always asked questions from a very early age. Some of the days were so bad that I found my way to a psychologist.

"There's not a single treatment in a way that I tried from speaking to psychologists, cognitive behavioral therapy because I like to just optimize on how can I solve the problem quickly.

"I have done probably more than 300 or 350 hours of talking," Wolff, who will remain in his CEO and Team Principal Mercedes role, declared.

With all he has gone through, Wolff feels he is now immune and can deal with pressure in a much better way, he continued: "I don't report to anybody. I have a great group of colleagues and shareholders. Of course Susie [Wolff] has been a strong rock at times when I wasn't.

"The interesting thing is these struggles in real life, when we are not where we are with the car, it doesn't move the needle for me in terms of pain. Zero. Because I have been in much worse.

"This stress is my comfort zone. Trying to solve problems. Never to give up, even if you have been beaten down a hundred times. In a way I'm made for these tougher days," the Mercedes boss concluded.

Under Wolff's watch, Mercedes racked up eight consecutive F1 Constructors' Titles, seven consecutive F1 Drivers' Crowns, six for Lewis Hamilton (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) and one of Nico Rosberg(2016).

Mercedes also achieved 118 grand prix wins, 130 pole positions, and 154 podiums (second and thirds).