Toto Wolff signs three-year extension with Mercedes F1 team
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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes that the 2024 car will be more competitive than before.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Mercedes team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff is thinking only of “winning” after he signed a three-year deal on Jan 15 to lead the former Formula One world champions into the sport’s new engine era in 2026.
The 52-year-old Austrian, who owns a one-third share of the team, told the Daily Telegraph in an interview that he still felt he was the best man for the job. He announced the new agreement following a meeting with fellow shareholders Ineos and Mercedes-Benz.
“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,” said Wolff, who has overseen the day-to-day running of team operations since 2013.
“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’.”
Mercedes won an unprecedented eight constructors’ titles in a row from 2014 to 2021, but finished third in 2022 and were runners-up last season.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has not won a race since 2021, while the team’s last Grand Prix victory was by George Russell in Brazil in 2022.
“The risk for me is always more bore-out than burnout,” added Wolff. “And that’s why I embrace the challenges we have today, even though they sometimes feel very, very difficult to manage.”
He also said that he was hopeful the 2024 car – which will be driven by Britons Hamilton and Russell at the Feb 14 launch at Silverstone – would be more competitive after two years of domination by Red Bull and their triple world champion Max Verstappen.
Wolff quoted former racer Anthony Davidson, who still serves as a simulator driver for Mercedes, reporting the car “feels like a car for the first time in two years” after driving the Australian GP layout.
Wolff was also adamant that Hamilton, now 39, could still win a record eighth title.
“His ability is on a different level,” he insisted.
“If we are able to give him a car that he actually feels, that drives in a way that he can trust, he will be on the level that’s needed to win the championship – 39 is no age.” REUTERS, AFP
