Ferrari ‘veto’ once stopped Toto Wolff from leaving Mercedes for his ‘dream’ F1 role

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Toto Wolff has been with Mercedes for more than a decade. He started out in F1 at Williams before moving to the German manufacturer in the capacity of managing partner.

Wolff owns a third of the team alongside INEOS and Daimler AG. And in addition to his role as team principal of the F1 squad, he’s also the head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

He’s enjoyed a truly historic tenure at Brackley thus far. Between 2014 and 2021, Mercedes won a record eight constructors’ titles in succession.

They also won seven drivers’ championships in that time, with Max Verstappen the only man to prevent a clean sweep. In total, Wolff has overseen 119 Grand Prix victories, most recently the Belgian GP just before the summer break.

There was some uncertainty over the Austrian’s future last year, but he signed a new deal in January. He’s now committed until at least the end of 2026.

Rather than the team boss, it was superstar driver Lewis Hamilton who opted to leave. Wolff will hire academy driver Kimi Antonelli as his replacement, with Verstappen unavailable for next year.

Ferrari stopped Toto Wolff leaving Mercedes for Liberty Media role

According to Formula Passion, Wolff harboured bigger ambitions in Formula 1. His ‘dream’ was to climb the ‘pyramid’ and eventually become the CEO of commercial rights holders Liberty Media.

Former Mercedes colleague Ross Brawn used to occupy the managing director role at Liberty. But Wolff was prevented from making a similar move.

Ferrari, and their ex-chief Mattia Binotto, exercised their ‘veto’. They may have been against one of their rivals taking on a position of such great influence within the sport.

Mercedes had a plan in place if Wolff left, with their chief strategist James Vowles earmarked as a successor. Vowles eventually moved on to join Williams, aware that the 52-year-old was effectively blocking his path to the top.

Why Peter Windsor called Toto Wolff ‘pathetic’

Wolff’s leadership came under scrutiny during Mercedes’ recent drop-off. They won just one race between the start of the ground effect era in 2022 and the beginning of June 2024.

But the Silver Arrows have finally made a breakthrough and furnished Hamilton and George Russell with a contending car. Russell’s victory in Austria kick-started a run of three in four for the team.

The only race Mercedes have failed to win in that time was the Hungarian GP. Hamilton came home third behind the two McLarens, while Russell’s weekend was ruined by a Q1 exit.

Mercedes sent him out onto a changeable track with insufficient fuel for the remainder of the session. F1 expert Peter Windsor called it ‘pathetic management’ from Wolff.