Wolff throws weight behind F1 ‘NFL Draft’ event

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has voiced his support for the F1 75 event due to take place later this weekend in London.

The O2 Arena will host the 10 F1 teams on Tuesday, where the liveries for the season ahead will be revealed.

The launch is the first time F1 has held a collective release of all of the fresh colour schemes for the year ahead, with the event organised in celebration of the sport's 75th year of existence.

Max Verstappen joked last year that he “hopes I'm sick” for the day - but Wolff asserted it will be a positive event for F1.

“I think it’s great,” Wolff told media including RacingNews365.

“It is almost like a race weekend, we’re all coming together after the season, all teams will present, the drivers will present.

“There will be lots of media buzz around it, new liveries will be seen, and maybe for some of us hardcore fans, you will be a little bit disappointed at not seeing the end product.

“The truth is you will not see the end product until the end of the test anyway.”

The launch takes place just one week before pre-season testing from Bahrain, where teams will be able to collect data about their new cars.

With the rules undergoing little changes over the winter break the field is expected to be close, with Wolff comparing the upcoming season launch to the NFL draft.

“Regulations stay stable and it’s a little bit like the NFL draft, but maybe a little bit with less consequences than the NFL draft,” he said.

“We should be promoting that. We should be promoting testing much more than that. And I think Stefano and Liberty are doing a really good job in doing that.”