Mercedes relies on psychologists to keep its edge in the workplace

The Mercedes AMG F1 team never leaves anything to chance, even resorting to specialized psychologists to keep the performance of its in-house personnel at its best.

Mercedes has enjoyed a dominant position in Grand Prix racing since the advent of the hybrid era in 2014, showcasing every year its engineering excellence, much to the chagrin of its rivals.

However, sustaining its momentum - especially in the face of Ferrari's recurring challenge - has required as much effort, discipline and commitment behind the scenes as it has on the race track.

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"I don't think complacency was ever a factor within our team, because the group is very motivated and we set objectives together that we are passionate about," explained team boss Toto Wolff.

"It is more about how can you maintain those levels of energy.

"Sometimes a level of energy can become unhealthy and that is an area that we are putting a lot of effort into in order to be able to continuously perform at these levels.

"As an organisation we are looking at the working environment.

"We are looking at nutrition, at sleep, at medical support, at sports, and we are looking at giving days off, sending people home, if we feel they are not in a good frame of mind.

"We are looking at psychologists, at mindfulness at the team. I could speak here for another hour and say what we are doing."

For all its dominance and success, Mercedes' fined-tuned machine can still improve insists Wolff.

"We are trying to really act not like a group of 5-year-olds who play football where everybody runs behind the ball, we are trying to let the ball run," he added.

"All of us within their area of expertise are trying to do a better job than their opposite number at Ferrari, or McLaren, or Williams or wherever it is.

"This is what I am benchmarking myself against and against my own expectation.

"Obviously you set your sights on what is happening next year: how can I improve, where do I want to be better? And that transcends into my whole life, whether it is my private life or my business life."

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