Toto Wolff ‘vetting’ Mercedes personnel over F1 succession plan
Wolff considers his replacement options
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has confirmed that he is making plans for who will take over at the helm when he decides to call time on his F1 career.
Wolff joined the Mercedes F1 team in 2013, having previously been an investor and executive director of Williams.
Toto Wolff lays succession plan foundations
Wolff is one of the most successful team principals in F1 history, overseeing a combined 15 world titles, with seven Drivers’ crowns and eight Constructors’.
Should Kimi Antonelli seal his maiden title in either the United States or Mexico, with Mercedes also taking the Constructors’, Wolff would draw level with former McLaren boss Ron Dennis on 17 world titles.
As well as his team principal role, Wolff is the CEO and has a 33% ownership stake. In 2023, he signed a three-year extension as team principal, which expires at the end of the current campaign.
Bradley Lord’s promotion from his communications role to deputy team principal this year offered an early indication of Wolff’s succession plans.
Elaborating on his plans, Wolff told the Cheeky Pint podcast: “For me, it’s important to do what’s best for the family and to do what’s best for the team. And that means looking at the structure going forward, where this team can live without me.
“Probably it’s not going to be the same because I have the credibility as an entrepreneur that’s leading my own businesses, but there will be a solid management structure, and I believe that my job is going to be divided between two or three people that I’m vetting at the moment, that I believe are already doing a great job with all of their strengths in various areas.
“It’s going to be different, but it will be a successful team.”
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Asked if a clean break would be important when he does eventually step back, Wolff added: “I think a clean break is probably not possible if I continue to own it with my family.
“So that kind of executive or non-executive chairmanship is something that may happen, but it needs to happen in a very precise way, because you can’t be on the sidelines and interfere into the daily business.
“I also don’t want to end up in a situation that I believe the family can run it the best way and then be just mediocre.
“You have to earn your spot in running it, and you have to contribute, and my children also don’t seem to have any interest.”
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