Toto Wolff agrees to contract extension with Mercedes
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has signed a new three-year contract with the Anglo-German team, keeping him in charge at Brackley until the end of the 2026 season.
The Vienna-born joined Formula One in 2009 after having brought a share of the Williams Formula One Team. Three years later, he was named executive director of Williams F1.
In January 2013, Wolff left Williams F1 to become an executive director of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team with his business partner Rene Berger becoming non-executive director. In addition to joining the team as managing partner, he also acquired 30% of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd, with a further 10% held by Niki Lauda and 60% by the parent company.
Despite his involvement in Mercedes, he continued to have shares in Williams, However, he sold two-thirds of his Williams shares to American businessman Brad Hollinger in 2014, and he sold his remaining shares in the Williams team two years later.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Wolff confirmed that he has extended his contract with Mercedes which will see him keep his position as Team Principal until at least 2026.
“I think the most important thing between the three of us is that we trust each other,” Wolff commented. “At the end of the day, as a shareholder myself, I want the best return on investment. And the best return on investment is winning.
“I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me. I make sure that I have people around who can tell me otherwise. In the end the three of us decided: ‘Let’s do it again’.”
He continued: “I’m part of this team in various functions. I’m a co-shareholder. I’m on the board. These are things which will not change whatever executive, or non-executive, role I have. But I feel good. The risk for me is always more bore-out than burnout. And that’s why I embrace the challenges we have today, even though they sometimes feel very, very difficult to manage.”
Since the start of the 2022 season, Mercedes finished third and third in the last two seasons respectively, but the Brackley-based team is eager to return to the sharp end of the field, having made key changes to their car concept for the 2024 F1 champaign.
Speaking of his expectation ahead of the 2024 F1 season, Wolff commented: “Always believe it’s possible. You cannot start the season with an attitude of, ‘This is not going to be possible’. We saw last year with McLaren, what a huge step they made with a single upgrade.
“We’ve signed a two-year deal with Lewis [Hamilton], and we owe it to him, to George [Russell] and to all the team to give it our full attention in 2024 and 2025. I think it’s possible.”
