Peter Windsor questions Toto Wolff leadership after ‘sad indictment’ at Mercedes

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After a winless season in 2023 Mercedes has turned around its fortunes and returned to winning ways in three of the last four Formula 1 Grands Prix.

Although George Russell’s victory at the Austrian GP was inherited after a collison between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, the follow up races at Silverstone and Belgium showed Mercedes can challenge for victories on merit.

The team struggled intially to produce a car that perfectly exploits the current rules package, leading to the departures of key figures within their design team including Mike Elliott and chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino.

Former techncial director James Allison was drafted back in to help produce a new concept for this year and after a breakthrough at the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes have been on an upward trajectory.

Despite this impressive turnaround in form, Peter Windsor has questioned team principal Toto Wolff’s leadership on his YouTube livestream.

Toto Wolff leadership questioned after Adrian Newey snub

When Adrian Newey announced in May he would be leaving Red Bull next year, it sent the paddock into frenzy as one of the most successful car designers of all time suddenly became a free agent.

Team principal Toto Wolff was warned not to make his ‘biggest mistake’ when Newey came onto the market, but so far there has been no links Mercedes. Instead, Newey looks set to join Aston Martin after a multi-million pound offer from billionare owner Lawrence Stroll.

Windsor believes Wolff will come to regret not courting the 65-year-old and believes it is an ‘indictment’ over his managment at Mercedes.

“It’s a sad indictment over Toto Wolff’s management over the last few years that he’s [Newey] not going to Mercedes,” said Windsor.

“He should be going to Mercedes, if Toto had done the job he really should be hiring Adrian Newey now to take Mercedes into the next millennium and get more championships. That’s the most outstanding indictment over this whole thing, that Adrian is not even considering Mercedes.”

Mercedes focused on Max Verstappen

There has been one figure within the Red Bull team that has been the focus for Mercedes and that’s Max Verstappen.

Wolff has been openly courting Verstappen for the last few weeks in what was seen as an attempt to ‘wind up’ Christian Horner, according to former F1 driver Karun Chandhok.

The best possible scenario for Wolff is to persuade Verstappen to join the Silver Arrows amid speculation that there is ‘not too much confidence’ in Red Bull’s engine project for 2026 with Ford.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Wolff would need to match Verstappen’s existing salary of £35 million per year, which is the second highest on the grid behind Hamilton.

Verstappen also reportedly has an exit clause in his contract if team advisor Helmut Marko leaves or if the team’s form drops in 2026. Red Bull has previously been critical of the 2026 ruleset.