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It is now 11 years since Wolff joined Mercedes, initially as an executive director and acquiring a 30 percent share, whilst also taking on the role of head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.
Just over three years ago, Wolff became a one-third equal partner of the F1 team alongside INEOS, under the leadership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and Daimler AG, continuing in his roles as team principal and CEO.
Without a doubt, the past two years have been the most difficult of Wolff’s leadership, with Mercedes winning just one grand prix since the introduction of new aerodynamic regulations at the start of 2022, ending eight seasons of dominance.
The 51-year-old Austrian has made clear that what he has experienced has been “tough”, which has resulted in him ‘hammering himself’, and “questioning my contribution all the time”.
Asked by Speedcafe in a select media interview as to whether that has extended to him considering either stepping down or stepping back from his positions inside Mercedes, Wolff replied: “No, I don’t, because I still think that I can contribute to the team in my area of expertise.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t found someone who I would say has more energy, more drive, more skill, all of these factors that I believe are important to be the team principal and CEO.”
Wolff also maintains he is not in F1 for the long haul, to continue until a day when he is overseeing a team in a seemingly irreversible decline that is only arrested by new ownership, citing two prime examples.
“We’ve seen situations when a team principal is no more at his best,” remarked Wolff. “I 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 the executive director. I forced it, in a way, because I said to Frank, ‘I want to run this and I respect you’.
“I feel I will never be in that situation. I’m always on the lookout of what is the organisational structure of the future. Maybe it’s different. Maybe there’s no team principal or CEO.
“We are a vast organisation. As the head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, I’m responsible for two-and-a-half-thousand people – all of the engine side, the chassis side, and all of the other programmes in Mercedes.”
Suggested to Wolff by Speedcafe that it is perhaps his intention to go out as a winner rather than a time when Mercedes is going its present dip, certainly in comparison to its recent title-winning years, he insists he will leave when the time is right, and no matter the circumstances.
“I’m an owner of the team, so I look at it with the perspective of the next 20 years,” he said.
“I would like to be fighting for championships. Whenever I feel the moment is right that we change the leadership, I wouldn’t mind whether it’s good or bad.
“I think I’m doing this together with many other people. This is, for me, not like being a coach or manager or trainer in saying, ‘I want to go out on a high and leave a legacy’.
“This is my thinking, I’m not going anywhere. I hope that we’re winning many, many more, but I don’t feel any entitlement.”
