© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Toto Wolff says he would leave his job as Mercedes team principal if he “felt there was somebody who could do a better job”.
After it was announced that Toto Wolff will remain Mercedes’ team principal for at least three more years, the Austrian clarified that he has committed to Mercedes “for life”, albeit later in a different role.
“For me, this year was very important,” said Wolff.
“The first half of the year, with not going to the overseas races, allowed me to reflect a lot on the future.
“I never envisaged leaving the team, from a shareholding point of view, but I’d always said that as a team principal you have a certain shelf life, you need to contribute.
“If that was ever the case that I felt there was somebody who could do a better job, then I would hand the baton over. This is not yet the case.
“You need to cover the racing side as well as the commercial and political side, and that’s why we’ve agreed that I’m staying on in the role that I enjoy in being team principal.
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On the same day that Wolff’s continued commitment to Mercedes was announced, the team also announced that the shareholder structure has changed with INEOS, Daimler and Toto Wolff holding equal stakes. Wolff says the three owners of the team are completely on the same page when it comes to its future.
“But for the future of the team, and the sustainability and growth of the team, from my perspective it is about looking into the future, who eventually could take over from me as team principal one day, and then me transitioning into a more corporate role as a chief executive officer, or executive chairman.
“When that will happen, I don’t know, but Jim [Ratcliffe, INEOS Chairman], Ola [Kallenius, Daimler boss] and I are in agreement that it’s my duty to define who could do this role in the future. It’s actually a total alignment of interests between the three of us.
“We wouldn’t want to have somebody running the team that is not efficient and successful,” concluded Wolff.
