Toto Wolff dismissed the notion that he might leave Mercedes to form his own Formula 1 team. He also doesn’t want to move to Mercedes’ “automotive side”.
Wolff’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of 2020 and the Austrian said on numerous occasions that he is contemplating what he wants to do in the future.
However, he told Beyond the Grid podcast that his future definitely doesn’t include starting his own F1 team, especially not one named “Wolff”. The Austrian was referring to Walter Wolff Racing, a Formula 1 team owned by Walter Wolff in the 1970s. Although the team managed to win three grands prix, overall it wasn’t very successful.
“First of all it’s not a great omen, I think, you don’t want to call it Wolff,“ said the Austrian
“There is no product ‘Wolff’ that I could endorse like some other companies, and I think with the partner, Mercedes-Benz, I am really staggered every time I think about it.
“There are not many people out there that can say they are a partner with Mercedes-Benz.
“I’ve been doing this for a few years now, my relationship with the Daimler management is more than intact, so I don’t see any sense in running a Toto team because the power of the brand of Mercedes is so strong.
“I feel honoured to represent them.”
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The Austrian also dismissed the possibility of moving on from Mercedes’ racing team and into the “automotive side” of the company.
“We discussed whether I should transition into the road car side but that’s not for me.
“I’m not a big corporation guy. I’ve always had my own companies and I think Ola Kallenius and the other board members very much value this as a competitive advantage, that the team is run in a very entrepreneurial way.
“So there is no desire in going on the automotive side, I enjoy running a sports team,” concluded Wolff.