Toto Wolff had a difficult childhood, and it helped him become the adult he is now. The Mercedes F1 director explains how he quickly had to manage his life alone, and even that of his mother, after his father's illness.
“It’s a twisted upbringing, but it’s no one’s fault” Wolff told the High Performance podcast. “Circumstances dictated it. My father fell seriously ill with brain cancer when I was very young, at the age of six or seven. He was operated on numerous times until that he died when I was 15.”
“So my dad wasn't really there, he couldn't be. When you're young, you fall in love with your dad. He's your hero. Then you have to have those moments where you hate your dad , where you are able to rebel in a certain way. I had none of that, only anger.”
“At the same time, my mother was a doctor and she was trying to survive. That's why my sister and I were pretty much left to our own devices and had to take care of her. But today, I'm totally at peace with that . I also told my mother: 'you have nothing to reproach yourself', everyone had to fend for themselves.”
According to the Austrian, it is possible to transform a dark past into strength, but it is not necessary to succeed: “I think overcoming drama, trauma and humiliation builds the motivation to prove that you are worth something.”
“Trying to overcompensate for a feeling of inadequacy or of having been a victim. I find that many successful people have been scarred by an event or situation that scarred them and caused them pain.”
“That said, there are many, many successful people who had very happy upbringings. My wife had great parents and family and she's still doing great in her own way.”
“But beyond success and achievement, I think it’s mostly about being a happy adult, enjoying what you do and being able to count on your friends and family.”
“I think the two go hand in hand, but I have witnessed many examples of people having negative events that shaped them and made them who they are.”
Now a billionaire, Wolff also experienced poverty in a rather bourgeois environment: “Maybe not, because for me the worst situation was that I was a poor child in an environment where there was wealth.”
“I went to a private school that we couldn't afford. There were times when my sister and I were called by the school principal and he said, 'You have to leave the school because the tuition fees are not paid.”
“These financial difficulties, added to my family situation, pushed me to take responsibility, to become an adult very quickly, to take care of my family financially and emotionally, differently from what I had. I would not be certainly not here if this hadn’t happened If I hadn’t felt this level of inadequacy in front of my friends.”
