“I have to say forever” - Toto Wolff plans to continue his Mercedes association for a long time

Toto Wolff wants to be at Mercedes for as long as he can. The Austrian billionaire recently expressed his loyalty to the Silver Arrows. He is arguably the most successful team principal in F1, winning eight back-to-back constructors' championships with the team. He even owns one-third of the team along with INEOS and Daimler.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Toto Wolff explained how he changed his strategy as a businessman and planned to own a part of the team rather than buy shares and sell them. Hence, he would like to keep the company for as long as possible. He said:

“It took a year to digest it and make it mine. I no longer wanted to go back to the sector in which I worked for 25 years, now I am a true entrepreneur, and I will keep this company for a long time, I would like to say...forever.”

Toto Wolff also mentioned how he once thought of going to Thailand and changing his life altogether, but now he is fully committed to Mercedes. He stated that it is partly his company, and he would like to work for it as long as possible. On this, he said:

“This is what I do, and this is my company. The 'problem' is that I can't leave, I've thought of other scenarios, even the possibility of moving to Thailand, of changing my activities, basically of changing my life. But in the end, here I am.

"I'm in my own company; I'm one of three shareholders, and I honestly think I've had a great opportunity to be where I am. It is important to remember this, especially when there are ups and downs.”

Over the past decade, Toto Wolff has firmly cemented his position as the boss of the Mercedes F1 team. He even has strong connections with the automotive company Mercedes-Benz and will most likely remain with them even after he retires from day-to-day activities.

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Mercedes team boss reveals how he advised Max Verstappen to join Red Bull

Even the thought of Max Verstappan driving for Mercedes seems bizarre today, but Toto Wolff recently revealed that this was a strong possibility when the Dutchman started in the sport.

When Verstappen was about to enter F1, Toto Wolff had an opportunity to offer Verstappen a race seat and take him under the Silver Arrows umbrella. However, he was unable to offer the seat since he already had Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Hence, he advised young Verstappen to go to Red Bull.

Speaking to Motorsport Italy, he said:

"Yes, but I didn't have a Formula 1 steering wheel to offer him. We had Lewis and Nico and both had long-term contracts, Max was clearly an interesting youngster but at that moment we could have offered him a place in GP2 and then maybe a contract.

"But Helmut was able to offer him a seat in Formula 1 and I finally advised him to go that route too. And that meant seeing him leave the Mercedes orbit."

The moment Verstappen joined Toro Rosso, he started excelling and was soon promoted to Red Bull.