F1 News: Mercedes Chief Responds To Resignation Questions Amid Performance Woes

Toto Wolff responds to questions of his resignation and his role in the future.

Mercedes faced a tough season in 2023, courtesy of its W14 F1 car. It was also the team's first winless year since 2011, as Red Bull won 21 of the 22 Grand Prix, leaving one victory for Ferrari to take away. Considering the performance woes, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff responds to questions about his resignation and his plans for the team's future.

Wolff concluded that the struggles Mercedes faced in the last two years have been a result of a "physics problem" on the car. Speaking to RacingNews365 about the "difficult times," he emphasized that he is answerable to himself. He said:

“It's tough because I keep hammering myself.

“You can say this is a physics problem and not a mystics problem or not an organisational topic.

“It’s more that we got the physics wrong. I keep questioning myself and my contribution all the time, because I feel myself as the team, as do many others.

“So in difficult times I wake up in the morning [and ask] what is it that I need to do?”

When asked if he considers resigning from his role, he said:

“No, I don't.

“Because I still think that I can contribute to the team in my area of expertise.

“And that is, I think, keeping it together, although I'm very emotional sometimes. But they know me so well, that I have these difficult moments on Sunday night. I can contribute.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t found someone where I would say: 'I think that person has more energy, more drive, more skill and all of these factors that I believe are important to be a Team Principal'.”

Wolff stressed that he would never be in a situation where he isn't performing anymore. He added:

“We've seen situations when a Team Principal is no longer performing at his best think about Ron Dennis or Frank Williams, you don't want to hold on to it.

“In 2012, I was eager to be the Team Principal of Williams, and we did it together. My title was Executive Director because I forced it in a way because I said to Frank, ‘I want to run this’.

“I feel I will never be in that situation.”

Future of Mercedes 

However, he asserted that he is open to changing the organizational structure in the future, where there is no team principal or CEO. He said:

“I'm always on the lookout of what is the organisational structure of the future. And maybe it's different. Maybe there’s not a Team Principal or a CEO.

“As the head of Mercedes Benz Motorsport. I'm responsible for 2500 people, all of the engine side, all of the chassis side and all of the other programs in Mercedes.

“I'm an owner of the team. So I look at it with a perspective of 20 years, the next 20 years. And I would like to be fighting for championships.

“Whenever I feel the moment it's time to change the leadership, I wouldn’t mind whether that's good or bad. We’re doing this together with many other people. This is for me not like a coach or manager or trainer and saying, 'I want to go out on the high end, leave a legacy’.

“This is my thinking, I'm not going anywhere. And I hope that we're winning many, many more - but I don't feel any entitlement.”

Wolff hinted that though he may be the team principal in the future, he would still be involved with the team's operations. Citing examples, he revealed:

“There might be different leadership on the day-to-day, but it doesn't mean that I'm not involved anymore.

“For me when I look at US teams, you have Robert Kraft [New England Patriots CEO] or Jerry Jones [owner of Dallas Cowboys].

“They are they're very involved in what the team does, but they have a coach, the manager, the CEO and all these people that are that are running it on the day-to-day.”