WOLFF HAS COMMITTED TO MERCEDES “FOR LIFE”

Daimler Chairman of the Board of Management Ola Källenius talks about Toto Wolff’s importance for Mercedes and the team’s new ownership structure.

Mercedes announced that the Mercedes F1 team will have a new ownership structure with Daimler, INEOS and Toto Wolff becoming equal partners. In addition, Toto Wolff has agreed to lead the team as team principal for at least another three years.

Toto Wolff says he would leave his job as Mercedes team principal if he “felt there was somebody who could do a better job”.

After it was announced that Toto Wolff will remain Mercedes’ team principal for at least three more years, the Austrian clarified that he has committed to Mercedes “for life”, albeit later in a different role.

Toto Wolff says he is ‘committed for life’ to the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team after recently inking a new contract with the German marque for three more years as Team Principal.

Wolff signed the new three-year contract to be Team Principal, but the Austrian says he is home at Mercedes.  He will go into 2021 with eyes on taking an eighth consecutive Drivers and Constructors’ Championship double, with Mercedes having dominated the turbo hybrid era since it began in 2014. 

And should he step away from his role of Team Principal in the future, Wolff says his home will always be at Mercedes, and as such he agreed to become one-third owner of the team alongside Daimler AG and INEOS.

“That is a misunderstanding,” Wolff is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com when asked about the length of his new contract.  “I haven’t committed to a further three years. I have committed for life.

“We are three shareholders that own the company today, and irrespective of my own role, I could be team principal, CEO, executive chairman, at any time. But Mercedes is what I do.”

He admits there is pressure in the role of Team Principal, but after seven consecutive World Driver and Constructors’ Championship triumphs, he says it is ‘just the right amount of pressure’ on him. 

“We have a good and fun environment, it’s a fun place to be, but at the same time, there is just the right amount of pressure,” said Wolff.  “We love what we do, we set the right objectives. I think we are living our values day to day. It’s all about integrity, loyalty, pride, determination – that’s what sums it up.

“It’s not something you can put on a powerpoint and say this is how we are, but something we have set as standards over the last eight years.”

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