Toto Wolff says there is no room for good at Mercedes

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has described his presumption successful Formula 1 arsenic the "ejection seat", explaining wherefore a driblet from "excellent" to conscionable "good" is not acceptable to him. In an interrogation with Forbes, the Austrian spoke openly astir his enactment style, his consciousness of work and his aboriginal successful the team.

Wolff has tally Brackley-based Mercedes since 2013. During that period, the squad won 8 constructors' titles and 7 driver's titles. Six times the champion was Lewis Hamilton, portion 1 rubric went to Nico Rosberg.

Speech astir leadership

Speaking astir leadership, Wolff emphasized that helium is not comfy with the word itself successful the classical sense. "I'm astir embarrassed to speech astir leadership," helium said. "I person a occupation with the thought of ​​a azygous leader. I cannot beryllium the champion fiscal director, the champion selling manager and the champion enforcement manager astatine the aforesaid time. I spot myself wrong the team. When the last determination needs to beryllium made, I marque it. But I trust connected the collective."

He particularly emphasized the consciousness of work towards the radical wrong the team. Wolff described his squad arsenic his ain "tribe", which helium indispensable protect, but to which helium owes clarity astir the ngo and goals. This is precisely wherefore helium demands the highest imaginable standards from himself and the absorption structure.

"You person to beryllium excellent. If you gaffe from fantabulous to good, either due to the fact that you're not motivated capable oregon due to the fact that you're technologically retired of step, past that's a spot to footwear out," Wolff said. "I carnivore work for the 2,000 radical who enactment successful this team, for their families, their modular of living, their mortgages, their dreams and their hopes."

Former Mercedes operator Valtteri Bottas, who was Lewis Hamilton's team-mate for 5 seasons and was the reserve operator successful 2025, praised Wolff's societal skills. "One of his strengths is his quality to work radical and larn however to enactment with antithetic characters, due to the fact that everyone is different. Some request much pressure, immoderate less. He tries to find what works for each idiosyncratic individually."

Although helium sold a 15 percent involvement successful his holding institution astatine the extremity of 2025, equivalent to a 5 percent involvement successful Mercedes' Formula 1 project, Wolff has made it wide helium has nary volition of stepping down from an operational role.

"I person nary program to merchantability the squad and I person nary program to discontinue from my position," helium emphasized. "I'm successful a bully presumption close present and I'm enjoying this. As agelong arsenic I consciousness similar I'm contributing and arsenic agelong arsenic others consciousness similar I'm contributing, there's nary crushed to deliberation that way."