Mercedes chairman went over Toto Wolff’s head to strike McLaren deal that he was set against

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Toto Wolff was burned by a deal made by Mercedes chairman Ola Kallenius with McLaren, which has seen the Woking-based outfit surpass their F1 rivals on track over the last couple of seasons.

Mercedes has been a shell of their former self since the beginning of the 2022 F1 regulations. After eight consecutive constructors’ titles to kick off the turbo hybrid era in 2014, race wins and podiums have been hard to come by since the introduction of the current ruleset.

The era saw Mercedes dominate, with Lewis Hamilton battling against Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas on his way to adding six titles to his tally and matching Michael Schumacher’s record of seven drivers’ championships.

On the other hand, the beginning of the 2014 regulations saw one of McLaren’s worst periods in F1 as they found themselves battling amongst the backmarkers and midfield teams with the use of Honda and Renault engines.

McLaren started to use Mercedes engines again at the start of the 2021 season and has since returned to the top of the grid. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are 2025 title favourites, with the drivers’ championship looking like it is heading back to Woking for the first time since 2008.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Toto Wolff was angered about Ola Kallenius striking a deal to supply McLaren with engines

Speaking on F1-Insider’s Italian Grand Prix preview, journalist Ralf Bach revealed how Mercedes’ deal to supply McLaren with power units came about in 2019.

“I know that Toto Wolff didn’t want this McLaren deal. He simply couldn’t prevent it back then, because [Andreas] Seidl knew with Renault they couldn’t go any further,” Bach said.

“They needed Mercedes engines to take the next step. And back then, Mansour Ojjeh, the McLaren shareholder and legend, was still alive and he basically made the deal directly with the Mercedes boss, Ola Källenius, who himself was always a McLaren fan.

“So suddenly they had Mercedes engines, and that was the basis for getting where they are today. With Renault, that would never have worked.

“And of course, Toto Wolff is now one of the victims of this deal, that’s completely clear, because now he has to hear: you’re worse than those who drive with our customer engines.”

McLaren toppled Red Bull and Mercedes in the 2024 season, winning their first constructors’ title in F1 since the 1998 season. They look set to become consecutive champions in 2025, so it’s no surprise to see why Wolff was sceptical about allowing their rivals to benefit from Mercedes’ power.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff had to answer internal questions when McLaren was beating Mercedes in the early 2010s

McLaren have had an extremely successful relationship with Mercedes, which began in the 1995 season after the team experienced a tumultuous couple of years trading between Ford and Peugeot engines.

Before the end of their partnership after the conclusion of the 2014 season, the team won 78 Grands Prix utilising the German power units, and has won a further 18 since rekindling their partnership in 2021. In between those years, the McLaren team didn’t win a single race.

Bach also revealed that Wolff was questioned in the early days of Mercedes’ works team due to the fact that McLaren was still superior, stating, “Toto won’t publicly admit that he’s angry, but of course he is. It’s always bad when a works team loses to a customer team.

“Norbert Haug also said that on Sky a few weeks ago, when back then the works team was behind McLaren, we’re talking about 2010 to 2012, he always had to answer questions internally about what was going on. Outwardly, it was sold as the customer is king, but it’s not a good situation.”

Despite McLaren running away with both of the 2025 titles, the reliability of their power units has come under scrutiny in the current campaign. Norris suffered from a failure at the Dutch GP, which could be the deciding factor on who takes home the drivers’ title at the end of the season.