Toto Wolff warns Mercedes leadership an "ejection seat" if standards slip

Mercedes Formula 1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff has opened up about leadership, describing his position as an "ejection seat" if he goes from "great to good".

Wolff has been at the helm of the Brackley outfit since 2013 and successfully guided the team to eight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, with Lewis Hamilton claiming six and Nico Rosberg securing one.

"I feel embarrassed talking about leadership," he told Forbes. "This notion of one leader is something that I really struggle with. I couldn’t be the best CFO, the best CMO, the best CEO, all in one. I see myself among that team. If there’s a final decision to make, then I will do that. But I rely on the collective.

"I see it a little bit as my tribe, I ought to protect them. But I also need to give clarity of the mission."

He added, "You gotta be great. If you go from great to good because you’re not motivated enough, or you haven’t been keeping up with the development of technology - then this is an ejection seat. I’m responsible for the 2000 people that work in this team, their families, their life standards, their mortgages, their dreams, their hopes."

Toto Wolff, Mercedes

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Valtteri Bottas, who drove for Mercedes for five seasons alongside Hamilton and served as a reserve driver in 2025, championed Wolff's ability to read people. "One of his strengths is reading people and learning how to deal with different people because everyone is different," the Finnish driver said. "Some might need more pressure. Some might need less. And he tries to figure out for each individual what works."

While the Austrian sold a 15% stake in his holding company, which translates to a 5% share in the Mercedes F1 team, at the end of 2025, he confirmed that he has no plans to leave his role at this stage.

"I have no plan to sell the team or no plan to leave my role," he told the media. "I'm actually in a good space and I'm enjoying it. And as long as I feel I'm contributing and others feel that I'm contributing, there's no reason to think in that direction."