Toto Wolff has signed a new three-year contract with Mercedes, keeping him in the team principal role until the end of the 2026 F1 season. The Austrian has been in the role for a decade now since joining the Brackley-based outfit in 2013.
2023 was a particularly challenging season for Mercedes. The Silver Arrows ended a campaign without a Grand Prix victory for the first time during Wolff’s decade-long stay with the team.
This fact, combined with his visible frustrations over the state of the W14’s development, sparked a debate about Wolff’s long-term future in the team principal role with some speculating that he could step down if the team’s struggles continued into 2024.
However, according to a report from The Telegraph, the 52-year-old has signed a new three-year deal with the team that he owns one-third of, meaning he is here to stay into the new regulation period in 2026.
Discussing his decision to sign a new deal, Wolff explained: “I think the most important thing between the three of us (Mercedes owners) is that we trust each other. 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’.”
While Wolff’s new contract will keep him in the team principal role until the end of the 2026 campaign, there are no clauses that could see him exit sooner if performances fail to improve.
Explaining the decision not to add these clauses into the deal, Wolff stated: “I’ve never had a performance clause. You either trust each other or you don’t. And we are aligned as shareholders.”
He continued: “I’m part of this team in various functions. I’m a co-shareholder. I’m on the board. These are things which will not change whatever executive, or non-executive, role I have.
“But I feel good. The risk for me is always more bore-out than burnout. And that’s why I embrace the challenges we have today, even though they sometimes feel very, very difficult to manage.”
