With less than half a season left, all eyes are on Lewis Hamilton as he is still yet to pen down a contract extension with Mercedes. However, another important personnel whose contract runs out at the end of 2023 is none other than team principal Toto Wolff himself. Amidst doubts regarding his contract situation, Wolff recently revealed to Der Westen his plans regarding a possible departure from Mercedes.
Wolff has been involved with the Silver Arrows since 2013, and his latest contract which was signed in 2021, ensures that the Austrian will stay with the team for a minimum of three years. With those three years coming to an end soon, Mercedes are nowhere near what they used to be.
Toto Wolff has confirmed to Ted Kravitz that Mercedes have brought upgrades this weekend that will gain them up to 8 tenths pic.twitter.com/3Vk3BSMkVh
— Tom Sp8 ㅅ⃝ (@Tom_Speight98) August 24, 2023
After dominating the grid for eight years straight, the Brackley outfit is trying to fight for podiums and is way behind their main rivals Red Bull. This could have been enough for Hamilton or even Wolff to take their leave and look for better opportunities. However, both of them have claimed that they will stick with the team through this hard time.
Toto Wolff will continue till he can contribute to the team
Toto Wolff has confirmed that he has no plans of leaving Mercedes at this moment. In an interview with Der Westen, Wolff spoke about the only situation where he would decide to leave the team
Wolff said, “If I feel like I’m no longer the best person for the job, then I’ll try to find someone else.” He continued further and said, “And I will not doubt or be conflicted. Because if you are indecisive, it means that the decision has already been made.”
#F1: Toto Wolff speaks on his role as Team Principal: “If I’m feeling that I’m not the best person anymore for the job, I’m going to try to find someone else, and I won’t have any doubt or being in two minds with that. Because if you’re in two minds, that means you have taken the…
— deni (@fiagirly) August 24, 2023
Another major factor that would contribute to Wolff’s decision to leave the team is his ownership stakes in Mercedes. The 51-year-old owns one-third of the company, alongside the other shareholders, Mercedes Benz Group and INEOS. This adds a new level of complication to the situation between Wolff and Mercedes.
The contract situation at Mercedes
Toto Wolff has admitted that Mercedes are far behind compared to where they would have wanted to be. Wolff revealed that it is even more difficult for them because they do not have an exact time estimate after which they will be able to fight at the front of the grid.
Both Wolff and Hamilton have commented that they are completely dedicated to the team. However, things may not be that simple as Hamilton will have his contract running out by the end of 2023 and he is yet to sign an extension. The seven-time world champion has stated that the negotiations are already over, but he will not be announcing anything before the end of the season.
