Mercedes to suffer two key losses as Toto Wolff dealt blow days after Lewis Hamilton win

Andretti have reportedly captured Chris Green and Laura Sturland from Mercedes after the British Grand Prix. The duo will join the team’s Silverstone base, taking up the roles of IT director and finance director respectively.

According to a report from Formu1a.uno, the Andretti Cadillac F1 project has completed the signings of the long-serving Mercedes duo with announcements coming in due course. Green has been a part of the Brackley-based outfit for 17 years most recently serving as the head of IT commercialisation and future technology.

Sturland, meanwhile, was signed by the Silver Arrows in 2017, taking up the role of financial controller before eventually being promoted to the role of finance director in 2023. Her expertise lies in the FIA’s financial regulations, making her a key hire for Andretti ahead of a potential F1 entry.

These two departures will be an unwanted distraction for Toto Wolff’s team, who are heading into a two-week F1 break with back-to-back victories to celebrate. George Russell’s fortuitous win in Austria was followed up by an on-pace triumph for Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone on Sunday.

While Mercedes are clearly on a steady upward trajectory and have now joined the fight for victories with Red Bull and McLaren, the Brackley-based team are losing key members of their backroom staff.

Ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix earlier this year, driver development director Jerome d’Ambrosio and performance director Loic Serra both departed Brackley to join Fred Vasseur’s project at Ferrari, while chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino left as part of an internal reshuffle.

Despite the turnover in staff, Wolff is not concerned. “We’re in a really good spot because we had eight consecutive championships and then it started to deteriorate and part of that is also human component,” he told Sky Sports F1 in Imola.

“And I think how it’s shaping up now some wanted to go, some we had to go, and in the same time we’re adding fresh joiners. All of that with the leadership of James [Allison], who does so well, he’s such an inspiration for the team, that I feel we’re in an upward trajectory with the motivation, the energy and the competence.”

These comments were backed up by Allison, who added: “The teams are big these days and, in any given year, you are shipping out a whole bunch of people and shipping in a matching number. That will be true in nearly every team.”