Toto Wolff to miss Imola F1 weekend for special reason

Today at 08:41

Toto Wolff will skip the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, the second time the Mercedes team principal has missed an F1 weekend this season. Whilst the first, at the Japanese Grand Prix, has become a regular round for the 53-year-old to not travel to, the second means Wolff will not be trackside for Kimi Antonelli's first home race in F1 - but for good reason. The Austrian will be attending his son's graduation in the United States, instead of making the trip to Italy, RacingNews365 can confirm. Mercedes chief communications officer, Bradley Lord, will therefore assume some of Wolff's usual responsibilities for the seventh round of the F1 season, as he also did at Suzuka. George Russell and Antonelli head into the weekend fresh of a strong Miami Grand Prix, in which the former secured his fourth podium finish of the campaign and the latter took his first pole in F1, for the shorter sprint race. The British driver is currently only 38 points behind drivers' championship leader Oscar Piastri and the Brackley-based team comfortably lies second in the constructors' standings on 141 points to Red Bull's 105.