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Toto Wolff is keen to carry on working with Mercedes F1 until he’s in his 80s.
In a recent interview for Giles Richard’s new book ‘F1 Racing Confidential’, Wolff dropped hints about what he would like his future at Mercedes to be.
The book itself features interviews with 20 individuals from six F1 teams discussing their job roles and the early stages of their careers.
The future of Wolff
Wolff is among the many key figures highlighted in the book.
He has been involved with Mercedes since 2013 and hasn’t been shy of success in those years.
After securing his place as co-owner and executive director of Mercedes, the team went on to dominate F1 for seven years, securing eight constructors and seven driver championship titles during that period.
The Austrian has broken numerous records during his reign and looking forward he hopes to continue the success:
“Life is full of surprises,” Wolff stated.
“I would never have imagined I would be here or the success of this team.
“I am 52 now. It sounds like an old age but hopefully there are another 30 years of Mercedes F1 for me.
“It’s important that when you hand over the baton at 80, you can say: ‘That was pretty good. I am happy with myself – I met my own expectations of my life’.”
Wolff’s investment
The name ‘Toto Wolff’ emerged into the F1 paddock back in November of 2009 after he invested in Williams F1. Whilst the Austrian had been involved with racing previously – winning the German and Austrian Formula Ford – Wolff became most notable for his contributions and investments behind the scenes.
He sat on the board of directors for Williams before becoming executive director, owning 15% of the team. During that period, Williams took their last win to date in 2012 with Pastor Maldonado in Barcelona. He still held a 5% stake in Williams until 2020 when it was confirmed he sold it to Brad Hollinger.
Mercedes’ parent company, Daimler reduced their shareholding to 60% in 2020. This happened as lead sponsor Ineos took one-third ownership of the team, alongside Wolff increasing his stake making it a three-way equal partnership. The increase suggested Wolff saw a more long-term plan with Mercedes and looked to continue leading the team for the future.
After this announcement, Mercedes released a statement mentioning Wolff had a space in an executive role within the company when he decides to hang his hat up as team principal:
“Wolff will have the subsequent opportunity to transition to a new executive function within the organisation when he decides it is the right time to do so”.
Wolff’s contract as team principal runs until the end of 2026.
Featured image credits: Dan Isitene via Getty Images