Toto Wolff joined the Mercedes Formula 1 team project back in 2013 as Team Principal and shareholder, and ten years later he feels he can never leave them, hoping to keep the team forever.
Under Wolff’s watch, Mercedes have won seven consecutive Drivers’ Championships, and a record eight Constructors’ Titles, but are currently going through a rough patch since 2022, as the team have failed to respond to the new era of ground effect technical regulations and their struggle continues still.
Usually when everything is going well, no one will ask any questions, but the past two seasons have somehow put the leadership of Wolff in the spotlight, some thinking it is time for change at the helm at Brackley.
However, speaking in an interview with Motorsport Italy, Wolff reflected on his time leading Mercedes and insists he doesn’t feel he can part ways with “his company”, of which he now owns 33%, sharing it equally with Daimler AG and INEOS.
“Yes, this is what I do and this is my company,” he said when asked if he will remain with Mercedes for a long time, “The ‘problem’ is that I can’t leave, I’ve thought of other scenarios, even the possibility of moving to Thailand, of changing my activities, basically of changing my life.
Wolff would like to keep his company forever
“But in the end, here I am, I’m in my own company, I’m one of three shareholders and I honestly think I’ve had a great opportunity to be where I am. It is important to remember this especially when there are ups and downs,” he added.
However, Wolff revealed that at one point he actually contemplated leaving Mercedes, but then opted not to, for one not acting like an investor rather an entrepreneur.
“In 2020 there was a moment of reflection,” he revealed. “My plan in a way was to finish at 49. The idea I had previously was to do something else, I wouldn’t have imagined myself over 50 as team principal.
“But something in me has changed, in the past my every project was based on a very clear guideline: buy shares in a company, develop it, and then sell the shares, and this was the program when my adventure in Formula 1 began.
“But in 2020 I came to the conclusion that for the first time in my life I felt like staying where I was, and I changed my strategy.
“A big change, yes, it took a year to digest it and make it mine,” Wolff said of his new decision. “I no longer wanted to go back to the sector in which I worked for 25 years.
“Now I am a true entrepreneur and I will keep this company for a long time, I would like to say… forever,” he concluded.