The Nurburgring crash which changed Toto Wolff’s career – and found him love:

— Toto Wolff’s life took a dramatic turn in 2009 when he suffered a terrifying crash at the Nurburgring Nordschleife while attempting to break a GT lap record in his Porsche 911 RSR.

“Someone had the funny idea of trying to break the lap record for GT cars there. And I thought, that’s a fun idea, I like a challenge.”

— Despite warnings from Niki Lauda, Wolff pursued his record attempt, which ended when a tyre exploded at 189 mph, leading to a 27G impact and a crash that left him unconscious.

“I didn’t go into the forest, which was lucky. I stopped the car, it was on fumes, and I thought everything was normal.”

— Wolff recounted his recovery, which included nerve damage, the temporary loss of taste and smell, and weeks of sleeping sitting up due to spinal concerns.

“This is when I realised I should probably stop doing these things.”

— During his recovery, Wolff received a call from DTM driver Susie Stoddart, which marked the beginning of their relationship. Two years later, they were married, forming one of F1’s power couples.

“Paul di Resta, Gary Paffett, and the whole gang were there, and when they heard I’d had a pretty bad accident on the Nordschleife they decided Susie should call me. That was the start of our romance.”

— Now a one-third owner of the Mercedes F1 team, Wolff reflects fondly on the Nordschleife but respects his wife Susie’s veto on returning to the circuit.

“I found my peace with the Nordschleife, somehow. This is a story I like to talk about, but my wife doesn’t allow me to say I love the Nordschleife. When I say that she says, ‘No, you love me and you like the Nordschleife.’”

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VIA: [PLANET F1: