Lewis Hamilton may have decided to part ways with Mercedes in 2025 but team principal Toto Wolff has no such ideas. The Austrian recently not only signed a contract extension for three years but also suggested that he could stay with the team for another 30 years. Hamilton and Wolff joined Mercedes together back in 2013. The duo enjoyed tremendous success during the turbo hybrid era. While the British driver claimed six out of his seven Drivers’ titles from 2014 to 2020, the team clinched eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2014 to 2021.
“You can be here for 20 more years, 30 more years. I can’t.”
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff have a chat in the new season of F1: Drive To Survive S6. Now playing. pic.twitter.com/4Q7zDMzAu7
— Netflix (@netflix) February 23, 2024
Now, Wolff hopes that he can achieve much more success with Mercedes, and also passed a bold statement in the process in a recent interview with The Guardian’s F1 correspondent, Giles Richards. Wolff said (as quoted by SilverArrows.net), “I am 52 now. It sounds like an old age but hopefully, there are another 30 years of Mercedes F1 for me”.
After stating the same, Wolff concluded his remarks by stating that he hopes to leave a legacy with Mercedes. The Austrian stated that if he were to stay with the Silver Arrows until his 80s, then he would want to reflect and see that he helped the team achieve tremendous success during this time.
Toto Wolff could stay with Mercedes F1 for the long term because of his position
Toto Wolff is not just the team principal of the Mercedes AMG F1 team, but also a co-owner. He owns a 33.3% stake in the team, with the other 66.6% held by Mercedes-Benz and INEOS [33.3% each]. Moreover, the Austrian is also the Chief Executive Officer of the team.
Since Wolff has such influence in the team, he also led an organizational change in the past couple of seasons. He brought back James Allison as the technical director and replaced Mike Elliot. Moreover, Wolff also invested his time heavily in the Mercedes Junior Driver Program, among other things.
“How great would it be to finish on a high with Lewis?”
Toto Wolff is looking forward to giving it everything in Lewis Hamilton’s final season with @MercedesAMGF1#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/Q80ke9jv5X
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 21, 2024
The 52-year-old’s radical approach has come after the Silver Arrows won only one race in the last two years. Since Mercedes have had a fall from grace, the Austrian is desperate to return to winning ways.
Although Wolff has worked tremendously hard to guide the team in the right direction, he did face the shocking news that Hamilton would be departing the team at the end of the 2024 season. As a result, Wolff now has an enormous task on his hands to find a strong replacement for Hamilton, having made it clear that he is still committed to the team’s project.
