© Paul Ripke for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Amid rumors that team boss Toto Wolff might leave Mercedes to take a position of power within Formula 1 in 2021, the Austrian hinted he plans on staying with the team.
Under Wolff’s guidance Mercedes won six consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championship titles, a feat only Ferrari managed to accomplish previously. The Austrian’s success led to speculation that he might replace Chase Carey as Liberty Media’s Formula 1 boss in 2021. Wolff however seems content with his relationship with Mercedes.
“What I found out is that I enjoy the relationships within the team and the relationships to the decision makers in Daimler,” explained Wolff.
“That is a fundamental part of my well-being.
“They have really trusted us and given us all the room that we need to make this team successful. And I’m not taking it lightly to come up with the right decision for all of us.
“This is a process that’s going to take a little bit of time, but I don’t see any surprises as it stands.”
Lewis Hamilton previously said that his decision to stay at Mercedes might also depend on the path Wolff decides to take. Wolff says he is very open with Lewis about his future.
“The two of us have been together for quite a while and we trust each other. We have gotten through difficult times together and we have come out stronger with a better bond.
“And besides us, there are many others who form part of the inner circle within the team.
“Of course we talk all the time, where we see the team going and Lewis’s career going.”
Hamilton was also very open with Wolff about the recent talks he had with Ferrari, a story which received a lot of coverage in the F1 media.
“In terms of the silly season, it’s normal. You guys drop us little grenades. Sometimes we pick them up and they explode in our hand.
“It’s part of the narrative and it’s good to know over the winter these talks happen. But at the same time, the two of us talk all the time about it.
“There have never been any surprises. When things came out in the press it was weeks or months that we knew about each other and what our thinking was.
“So it’s part of Formula 1, I guess,” concluded the Mercedes F1 boss.
Source: motorsport.com
