The Business F1 Magazine reported that in 2022, Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff took a massive $3,800,000 hit in his salary. That shouldn’t come as a surprise given how squalid the season had been for the Silver Arrows after dominating the turbo-hybrid era of the sport since 2014.
That being said, what Wolff lost out on as an employee, he gained elsewhere. The report also reported that the shareholders of the team would have been entitled to a $30 million payout as dividends for the fiscal year. Wolff being a 1/3rd stakeholder in the team meant that he would get a pretty heft chunk of the pie despite a lackluster season on the track.
While the team has not been able to peak since 2022, the marketability of the unit has remained unparalleled. Thus, even though the Brackley-based team has not been able to challenge the likes of Red Bull for championship glory on track, off of it they’ve still been able to rake in the millions in terms of revenue.
In the first year since their defeat, the team amassed a whopping 25% rise in income as compared to their 8th Constructors’ championship-winning year in 2021. According to the books of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd., the outfit reported $136,000,000 in book profits before tax.
Business aside, Mercedes find themselves in big trouble
The single biggest concern for the team is their F1 project. The W14 this year has shown sparks of brilliance. However, the entire season has been underlined by how inconsistent and unpredictable their design philosophy has turned out to be. For both, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, taming this unmanageable beast in race-trim has been the most frustrating part of their respective season.
According to Wolff, however, the team is going to leave no stone unturned in a bid to return to championship glory in 2024. He told RacingNews365.com, “We just need to continue working and chipping away at our understanding and unlocking potential in the car, as Aston Martin did over the winter or McLaren over the season.”
Even their ex-champion, Nico Rosberg has tipped them to win again in ’24. GPBlog.com quoted the German as claiming, “I believe in Mercedes’ ability because I was there. I know how strong they are. It’s always still the same people. So certainly there is a chance that Hamilton could once again fight for the championship next year.”
But with how Red Bull has aced the current generation of F1 regulations, it is going to be an uphill task for anyone to even come close let alone dethrone them.
