Toto Wolff has vowed to remain at the helm of Mercedes until “a stone falls on my head” as he declared he is the right man to get the Silver Arrows back on track
In the midst of Mercedes’ recent difficulties, Toto Wolff is unwavering and confident that he can lead the team back to success. The Austrian is also backing Lewis Hamilton to win a record-tying seventh world championship with Ferrari when he departs the Brackley-based team at the end of the current campaign.
Mercedes, whose star driver Hamilton is scheduled to wear Ferrari’s recognizable red next season, finds itself in an unaccustomed fourth place in the constructors’ standings as they prepare for the flash and glamour of Monaco.
In the driver’s standings, Hamilton is currently mired in ninth place, much behind leader Max Verstappen, who will be moving from the Silver Arrows to the Scuderia at the end of the season. This is as he gets ready to take on the demanding streets of Monte Carlo.
Even if Mercedes’ dominance in Formula One is under threat due to a string of disappointing results after 2021, Wolff—who recently signed a three-year contract extension with the team—remains resolute in his leadership role while also being reflective.
Wolff stated, “I have always been very self-critical and introspective,” in an exclusive interview with PA. Is this my area of expertise? Am I engaged in work that I understand and believe I can provide value to?
“I have been asking myself that question constantly for the past 30 years, and I have decided that I will always be a co-owner of this company, regardless of whether I am the team leader, CEO, or chairman.
“In the past, I’ve experienced the feeling that there’s someone else who could perform this task more effectively, whether it’s because they possess greater vitality, intelligence, experience, or empathy.
“That day will come, but together with Daimler and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owners, we haven’t decided who will be the next in line.
“I still adore it. Perhaps when I wake up one day, I won’t enjoy it. I could have a stone dropped on my head and no longer be the team principal. But along with my fellow shareholders, I am selecting this course of action.
“I have signed a new three-year contract and I am going to be the most permanent unless I die, but maybe in various roles in the top management.”
Wolff further justified Mercedes’ recent performance by citing Ferrari and McLaren, who, respectively, last had a driver win the championship in 2007 and 2008.
“We have been knocked down over the last 50 races, and we have finished first 115 times,” he continued. On that day, it feels awful, and it is not where we want to be. However, we reorganize and set off again on Monday morning.
Since 2008, Ferrari has not taken home the constructors’ championship. We were winning; Red Bull did not win eight straight times because of us.
Thus, we must adopt a particular viewpoint and acknowledge that this is our third year without a victory. It’s not eight. It’s not sixteen. When was the last Constructors’ Championship won by McLaren? 1998. And who was the last driver they had? In 2008, with Lewis.
“The year before, we came in second. It’s not good enough, but in ten or twenty years, you’ll see that we won eight straight titles before losing three or maybe four, but not sixteen.”
Wolff will attempt to make Mercedes a showpiece once more sans Hamilton. The 39-year-old surprised everyone in the sport by leaving Mercedes a year early and signing with Ferrari.
Leave a Reply