Toto Wolff is one of the longest-serving team principals in F1 and according to Peter Windsor, the Austrian boss is not even close to losing his place anytime soon. Windsor believes that Wolff will remain strong within the team despite Mercedes’ poor form off-late.
Speaking about this, the former Ferrari manager said on his own YouTube channel, “He now owns such a large part of the team that he won’t be under pressure anytime soon. The Mercedes board can’t just fire him because he owns a significant percentage, so he can do what he wants.”
Wolff owns 33 percent of Mercedes AMG F1 and is the Chief Executive Officer of the team. Therefore, it will not be easy for the board to fire him by pointing out the poor performances, something Ferrari has done with Mattia Binotto.
Windsor, further emphasized how Christian Horner is also one of the longest-serving team principals and he does everything to keep Adrian Newey and Red Bull happy. Even Wolff does the same in this regard as the Billionaire boss is a great businessman and can churn out more money from the Mercedes board.
How is Toto Wolff trying to bring Mercedes back to the front?
Mercedes were not the same force they were after the conclusion of the 2021 F1 season. From the onset of the new regulations in 2022, the Silver Arrows were largely the second and at times third-best team on the grid.
However, Toto Wolff is head over heels to bring the German giant back to the front like their 2014 to 2020 days. Apart from developing internally, the Austrian boss also brought James Allison to the forefront after replacing Mike Elliott this season.
Toto and Susie. ❤️
Rocking the red carpet last night at the #AutosportAwards pic.twitter.com/f80n6TyLfz
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 4, 2023
Mercedes finished this season in P2, way behind the champion Red Bull. Wolff and everyone on the team like Lewis Hamilton got fed up with the W14 by the season’s end, due to its inconsistency.
Therefore, it would take the Brackley-based team quite some time to close the gap. Even if the Silver Arrows fail to do so in the next couple of years, Wolff would still be out of danger because of his position in the team.
Apart from having a solid foundation within Mercedes, Wolff also had enough backing that saw him dodge the FIA investigation with immediate effect. Nevertheless, his ownership of the team and good rapport with the board would act as a Teflon layer, therefore, allowing him to put all his focus on the development.