As part of an effort to better manage his time amid F1’s calendar expansion, Wolff had planned to miss some of the flyaways – and Japan was one of those where he had originally intended to remain back at base.
But off the back of a troubled start to the 2024 campaign for his squad, which included a double DNF in the Australian GP, Wolff changed his plans at the last minute and elected to commit to the Suzuka weekend as well.
Asked by Motorsport.com to explain his decision, Wolff said he felt it important to be with the team – especially on a weekend where it had planned some key experiments to help it better unlock pace from its W15 car.
“I had planned not to come to Japan because there's so much on back in Europe, things to do,” explained Wolff. “But then I felt not coming to Japan was the wrong choice.
“I think it's important to be with the race team also. It does me good also to be close to the action.
“We are experimenting with a few things and then being part of the team really gives me energy. I hope the other way around too. So that's why I decided against staying in Europe.”
Source: Autosport