SEPTEMBER 15, 2025

Wolff won't quit until Mercedes winning again

Toto Wolff has revealed just how close he came to walking away from Formula 1 five years ago.

The 53-year-old Austrian told Germany's motorsport-total.com that his original plan was to end his frontline involvement with Mercedes at the close of 2020.

I really wanted to retire in 2020, Wolff admitted. My original plan was that I wouldn't mess around with racing cars anymore when I was 50, because that's when you're an adult.

At the time, his contract as team boss was expiring and reports suggested a potential move to a supervisory board role at Mercedes. Instead, he opted to remain in charge while also becoming a one-third shareholder in the Brackley-based outfit - a team now valued in the billions.

At some point, I said to myself, okay, this is my niche, I'm going to continue doing it, he explained. And I'm going to forget everything I did before. Because I also enjoyed venture capital. I made that decision for myself in 2020.

While still at the helm, Wolff has delegated some duties. Mercedes communications chief Bradley Lord now serves as his deputy and steps in at races Wolff does not attend.

He takes a lot of the burden off my shoulders, Wolff said. But I think I'll stay team principal. Because it's basically my team. Anything else would be kind of weird.

As for the future, Wolff insists he will certainly remain in charge until Mercedes is back at the front.

At least until the team starts winning again, I still see myself as the executive team boss, he confirmed.

(GMM)