Mercedes Formula 1 CEO, team principal and one-third owner Toto Wolff has extended his contract with them.
The new deal will see Wolff remain in his executive position until at least the end of the 2026 season. This will be the first year under F1’s next set of technical regulations, including a revised engine formula and new chassis rules which are still under discussion.
Wolff joined Mercedes from Williams in 2013 and in the following years oversaw a period of sustained success unmatched by any other F1 team. From 2014 Mercedes won eight consecutive constructors’ championships and its drivers won seven titles in a row.
Their run of success was ended by Red Bull. Mercedes has only scored a single grand prix victory in the two years since F1’s last major rules change and its star driver Lewis Hamilton has been win-less during that time.
Since 2020 Wolf has owned one-third of the team, along with Mercedes parent company Daimler and petrochemicals manufacturer Ineos. Wolff said discussions about extending his role between him, Mercedes chairman Ola Kallenius and Ineos CEO Jim Ratcliffe had been straightforward.
“I think the most important thing between the three of us is that we trust each other,” Wolff told The Telegraph. “At the end of the day, as a shareholder myself, I want the best return on investment and the best return on investment is winning.
“I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me. I make sure that I have people around who can tell me otherwise. In the end the three of us decided: ‘Let’s do it again’.”
Wolff is hopeful his team will be able to turn around their recent slump this year. “I think the regulations, how they were laid out a few years ago, we interpreted them in a very conservative way,” he said. “And we’ve seen other teams doing it differently. So watch this space. I think it’s going to be very different.”
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