Jack Wolff, son of Mercedes Formula 1 Team Principal Toto Wolff, has walked away unscathed after suffering a dramatic crash during a karting race in Italy.
The nine-year-old driver was competing in the IAME Warriors Final at the Leopard Circuit in Viterbo, Italy among 361 participants across the weekend. It was at the same circuit that Wolff claimed his maiden motorsport title last month in the final round of the IAME Series Italy in the X30 U10 category.
Wolff Junior run over by rival kart on final lap
The crash occurred on Friday during the final lap in the X30 Mini category, when Wolff – racing for KR Motorsport – made contact with Moroccan racer Nahyl El Gahoudi, causing the Austrian driver to spin.
British racer Dimitar Uzunov, who was following behind the leading duo, was flung over the top of Wolff, his kart rolling over Wolff’s helmet and shoulder. At the side of the track, Wolff was seen rolling out of his kart rather than climbing out.
While there were medical personnel in attendance, Wolff was unhurt and walked away from the crash without assistance. He was, however, taken for minor medical treatment immediately following the incident.
Despite the crash, the Austrian driver has already expressed his intent to participate in more racing on Saturday.
Wolff gave his first on-record interview as a budding racer after having won his maiden championship last month at the Leopard Circuit.
“It was good,” he said at the time. “We had a lot of wins and some bad races, but in the end we fought well, and we won the championship, so I’m really happy.
“From the season, I did not know I would win nearly every single round, so I was really surprised that I was up there.
“It’s really competitive. There’s a lot of good drivers fighting in the championship, and we came here on the first step.
“I want to thank my whole team, my mum, my dad, and my whole family for getting me here to race and to win the championship.”
Toto Wolff: When Jack is racing, it’s not something that I love
His father Toto spoke to RacingNews365 earlier this year about his son’s interest in karting.
“There is nothing else that interests him, it is all about driving, driving a simulator, driving the go-kart,” Wolff Snr. said.
“If there are four days that he is not driving, he asks: ‘When can I drive again, when can I drive again?’
“When he’s racing, it’s not something that I love. But I can’t change it.
“I really try to compartmentalise that because he is nine, it is his first racing season, and he is doing better than my expectations were. He likes it, but he might not like it next year anymore, or in two years, or he might struggle when he gets into juniors.
“He might struggle when he gets into cars; he may not, and I think judging a nine-year-old’s possible career trajectory is not too early. That is what I am thinking, what Susie [Wolff] is thinking, and we actually enjoy motorhome life.
“We like to go to the races; for him, it is a way of growing up, rather than to be a spoiled Monaco international school kid. He needs to go out on a car track and put his elbows out to win; it is good.
“I have an understanding of what the driver needs to do and how he needs to drive, but as a dad, I’m much more irrational and too emotional.
“When he is starting a race, my heartbeat is 155, and here it is 90, so it is totally different when you see your kid driving in a race car.
“But it is also good for me to learn how to be stable emotionally; I’m always someone who has gotten too emotional at times, too angry and too quickly.”
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