MERCEDES boss Toto Wolff will be absent from the next Formula One race in Japan, the PA news agency reported today.

It is understood that Wolff’s decision to miss the race in Suzuka on April 7 was taken before the start of the new season and is not connected to the team’s performance in Australia.

Wolff admitted after Sunday’s race at Melbourne’s Albert Park that it was “fair” to question his future as team principal following Mercedes’ troubling weekend.

Lewis Hamilton qualified only 11th and the worst start to his 18-season career was confirmed when his engine expired on lap 17, while team-mate George Russell was seventh when he crashed out.

Wolff, who lives in Monaco, will be on the intercom remotely throughout the race weekend in Japan — with his duties at the circuit to be divided between senior members of the Brackley team.

The Austrian also missed last year’s Japanese GP and the ensuing round in Qatar, following knee surgery.

Wolff admitted in an interview with the PA news agency last year that he intended to scale back his on-track presence in the coming years.