F1 News: Mercedes Boss Issues Stern Warning To Team For Las Vegas GP - "No One Else Gambles"

Toto Wolff will ensure everyone on the team stays away from the casinos.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has issued a stern warning to his team members to prevent them from gambling in one of the casinos on the strip during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.

Formula 1 heads towards its inaugural Las Vegas GP this weekend for the first time in 41 years. The pit building and the street circuit were being built for many months and now, the time has finally arrived to unveil the largest sporting event in the world.

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Since Las Vegas is known for its casinos, Wolff will be keeping a check on his staff so that they don't go gamble but instead, focus on the job that is at hand. And while Formula 1 has introduced quirky features to the venue such as playing card suit motifs on the kerbs and an F1-themed wedding chapel in the paddock for fans to get married, the team boss wants to ensure that team members aren't carried away by the distractions. 

Eagerly looking forward to the Las Vegas GP, Wolff told the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com:

“I think everyone is looking forward to the Las Vegas race.

“Racing in this city is comparable to climbing Everest, hats off to Liberty Media for organising this race.

“I don’t think I’m the only one in Formula 1 who has never been to this city, which is quite difficult to get around.

“We don’t know how to get from the hotel to the circuit and back, but I’m sure we’ll find a solution. I can’t wait for the race to start.

“As I said, I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but we’ll do our best to make sure everyone in the team stays away from the casinos. I don’t gamble and I will make sure no-one else gambles either!”

Talking about how he doesn't want to rely on simulation data to interpret the race outcome since this is a track that hasn't been raced upon, Wolff added:

“I’m not sure I want to rely on the simulations at the moment.

“I think there is an enormous effort that Liberty undertook [with] Las Vegas and I think it’s going to be a tremendous show for the audiences.

“For us, I don’t know what to expect, you can see those swings. You asked me last week and ‘yeah, we’re going to Brazil and this is going to be awesome’, and now we’re going to a track that we haven’t been to even, so I don’t know.”