German F1 champion Nico Rosberg who raced for Mercedes between 2010 and 2016 attributes Toto Wolff's flair for preserving the talent at Mercedes is one of the key attributes in the German team's success. Ever since the turbo-hybrid V6 era came into effect in 2014, the Mercedes racing team has enjoyed a stranglehold on both the driver's and constructor's championships in F1. Rosberg himself played a key role in helping the German outfit secure the double on three separate occasions, winning the driver's championship himself in 2016. The former world champion has praised the team saying the loyalty of the team members is key in helping Mercedes' relentless pursuit of excellence. "One key ingredient of that was keeping the talent together," Rosberg told Sky Sports. "Every year you can imagine that Ferrari comes and offers like 30% more salary to probably every single one of those top 15 people within Mercedes, and nobody has ever considered it. "That is testament to the culture that Toto has installed within Mercedes, how they all feel part of a family. They all love working there, they're all totally engaged, and so they don't even think about going somewhere else for a bit more money or something. Rosberg credits Mercedes' upper management for instilling that culture with the likes of Ross Brawn, Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda all contributing to the team's success. "It all starts with the leadership," Rosberg explained. "The foundation was still built by Ross Brawn back in the day, and then Toto Wolff, Nicki Lauda and then, of course, Toto Wolff, majorly, in the last many, many years and that's really phenomenal." Despite winning seven straight title doubles on the trot, Mercedes face their sternest test yet after enduring a difficult preseason test in Bahrain. Most observers however are confident that the team will bounce back to claim both championships even if they face their strongest challenge in years.
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