SUMMARY
- Toto Wolff took over for Ross Brawn as Mercedes team principal in 2013
- Since joining the team, Toto brought Mercedes a lot of success, but it had its own challenges
Toto Wolff is without a doubt one of the most successful team principals in F1 history. Since joining the team, he has won a total of 16 Championships including the Drivers’ and Constructors’. However, it has not been very long since Toto joined the team.
Before leading the Mercedes team, Wolff was involved with the Williams F1 team as one of their investors. He took interest in the team’s operations and supported the team whenever possible. It was after this, Mercedes approached him to lead the team.
Who did Wolff replace as team principal at Mercedes?
Toto joined Mercedes as their team principal in 2013. Before that, the team was led by legendary car designer, Ross Brawn. Before the 2009 season, Ross Brawn bought the Honda F1 team for a single pound. He then renamed the team to Brawn GP. The team went on to win the Championship in their first season due to a loophole Brawn found in the diffuser. Brawn GP was the first to implement the double diffuser in their car in 2009.
Ross Brawn then sold the team to Mercedes for a significant profit. Even after the sale, Brawn retained his role as team principal. He was able to convince Michael Schumacher to come out of retirement and join the team during its debut season. After the 2012 season, Brawn decided to step down from his position. He was then replaced by Toto Wolff.
Toto Wolff says he would welcome Ross Brawn back to F1 – https://t.co/3TWEglbN2r #F1 pic.twitter.com/ufycTJDxr7
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 30, 2016
Wolff not only took over the role of team principal, but he also acquired 30% of the team which helped him gain his billionaire status. He still retained a small amount of stake in the Williams F1 team. This gave him a lot of success. During the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix, both of Wolff’s teams secured the top 4 spots after the race. This was the most successful race of his career.
After taking over as team principal, Wolff was able to lead the team as they competed for the Championship just after a year. In 2014, Mercedes were the clear winners of the season. Their cars won all but 2 races during that season. Daniel Ricciardo was the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race that season.
This Championship form continued to the 2015 season as well. However, the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg within the team started to get heated. This prompted Wolff to take certain steps to avoid losing significant points and resources.
How Toto Wolff tackled the civil war between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were once very close friends. They grew up racing together in karting and GP2. They remained friends as they both made their F1 debuts. When Hamilton joined Mercedes, Rosberg welcomed him with both arms open.
During the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Lewis was able to win the Championships. This made Rosberg impatient and desperate to beat his teammate. When the 2016 season started, Rosberg had had enough of it and decided to take the challenge to Hamilton.
As the 2016 season started, Nico went on to win the first 4 races of the season. This gave him momentum and led to beat Hamilton. The relationship between the 2 drivers reached an all-time high when during the 5th race of the season.
A battle for the ages ⚔️#OnThisDay in 2014, @MercedesAMGF1‘s Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg duelled in the desert 🇧🇭#F1 pic.twitter.com/u8JcGomtgp
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 6, 2020
During the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton and Rosberg clashed in the opening lap causing both the cars to retire from the race. This prevented the team from scoring points in that race. After the crash, both the drivers were summoned to meet with Wolff and Niki Lauda. They were given strict warnings to try and prevent such incidents in the future.
To prepare for this season, Wolff even consulted with Alain Prost who has his own experience of an intense teammate battle. During the 1980s, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna fought each other race after race for the Championship. Both of them drove for McLaren for a few seasons where their battle grew.
Wolff spoke to both the drivers individually and together. After this incident, there were no major clashes between the 2 drivers. Although, there were a few minor ones in the following season. Minor incidents between the 2 drivers were expected since both the drivers did not face any challenge from any of the other teams. The Championship battle was clearly between Hamilton and Rosberg only. Nico went on to win the Championship that year.
How can Toto Wolff bring Mercedes back to glory?
Toto Wolff led the team to more Championships until the 2021 season. From 2014 to 2021, the team won 8 Constructors’ Championships and 8 Drivers’ Championships. However, after the 2021 season, the team was not able to take advantage of the new regulation change to develop a strong car.
In the 2022 season, Red Bull took over as the dominant team. However, Toto is not giving up. The team continues to work on the car to provide their drivers with the best car possible. The Austrian team principal even extended his contract after the 2023 season. He will continue to lead the team until the end of the 2026 season.
After extending his stay with the team, he expressed his motive to help Hamilton win another Championship in the coming years.
Toto Wolff on his contract renewal and the W15:
“I’m staying at Mercedes to beat Red Bull with Lewis Hamilton.”
“Those who have driven in the simulator have told us that the 2024 car [W15] doesn’t look like the car of the last two years.”
“If we give Hamilton a good car that… pic.twitter.com/564MxvHVTF
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) January 15, 2024
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“I’m staying at Mercedes to beat Red Bull with Lewis Hamilton.” “Those who have driven in the simulator have told us that the 2024 car [W15] doesn’t look like the car of the last two years.” “If we give Hamilton a good car that he can rely on, he can get back in front of everyone.”
Toto has made it clear that he hoped to beat Red Bull and help Lewis win his 8th Championship. Toto and the team have always felt that Hamilton should have won the Championship in 2021. He wants to now make up for this. An 8th Championship for Lewis would break the record that was set by Michael Schumacher in 2004.
Do you think Toto Wolff can bring the team back to its winning ways and help Lewis Hamilton win his 8th Championship and break Michael Schumacher’s record? Post your answers in the comment section below.