Wolff suspects an ‘agenda’ behind Liberty links

Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, believes the links of him becoming the new boss of Formula 1 are an attempt to “trigger scepticism”.

Wolff has been put forward as one of the leading names to taking over from Chase Carey as CEO of Liberty Media, leaving the likes of Lewis Hamilton debating whether his boss should be the man to take Formula 1 into its next era.

But Wolff thinks there are some potentially dark forces at work trying to cause disruption at a dominant Mercedes team.

“I wonder who put my name out there?” Wolff told Motorsport.com.

“Maybe there is an agenda about putting my name out to actually trigger scepticism. But interestingly, none of that is happening and I haven’t applied for a job.

“I am in a really happy place at Mercedes.

“I enjoy my role representing one of the best brands in the world and, having been given the autonomy to run the team in the best interest for Mercedes, as a partner of Mercedes, I really enjoy the relationships within the team, and the relationship with my Daimler friends.

“Fundamentally I am a lap time person. I like the competition. So whatever is being put out there by somebody is not coming from me, and it is not reflecting the situation.”

While Wolff has distanced himself from the rumours, he did say that a very exciting prospect awaits for whoever does lead Formula 1 into the next decade of racing.

“The sport is a super exciting property,” he added.

“It is one of the big global sports properties and I think we have a real chance to make it the biggest spectacle in the world if we continue to develop what F1 stands for.

“We need to embrace our current audiences and fans, and potential audiences that we haven’t tapped yet, plus embrace new technology.

“I hope very much that, as a Mercedes team principal and Mercedes shareholder, we and all the other teams can benefit from the growth of F1.”

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