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Toto Wolff is already making long-term plans to leave the Mercedes F1 team, according to journalist Nate Saunders. Wolff has been the team principal at Brackley since 2013.
In that period, Wolff has established himself as one of the greatest team bosses in F1 history. Between 2014 and 2021, Mercedes set a new record by winning eight consecutive world championships.
Wolff signed a three-year contract extension in early 2024, so that deal is up at the end of this season. While he’s likely to stay beyond that point, his next contract may be his last.
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Toto Wolff’s Mercedes tenure is winding down
In addition to being the Mercedes team principal, Wolff is also a shareholder, which consolidates his position. Even during the ground-effect era, when the Silver Arrows only won seven races across four seasons, there was never any question of a change being made.
However, Wolff sold 15% of his stake, so five percent of the team overall, to Crowdstrike founder George Kurtz last autumn for £230m. Mercedes insisted at the time that the deal didn’t herald his departure.
But speaking on The Race F1 podcast, Saunders said Wolff is unlikely to be at Mercedes ‘in a few years’, even with the German manufacturer dominating at the start of the new regulations.
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“It feels like Toto Wolff’s” on a bit of a glide path away from that role as well, slowly moving things around,” said Saunders. “In a few years, I wouldn’t imagine Toto still being there, unless he really loves winning in five years’ time.”
Since Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull in the summer of 2025, Wolff has been the longest-serving team principal in F1. Andrea Stella, in second place, has only held the role at McLaren since late 2022.
Who could replace Toto Wolff at Mercedes?
Mercedes recently appointed Bradley Lord as their deputy team principal, so he may be seen as a natural successor. But given that Lord has a background in communications rather than engineering or business, the appointment would be somewhat risky.
Chief technical officer James Allison, who’s also comfortable in the media, might be an alternative internal candidate if they prefer to go down the engineer route. They will be wary of distracting him from his car development duties, though.
James Vowles left his role on the Mercedes pit wall to become Williams team boss in 2023. Theoretically, they could try to rehire Vowles if the top job was available.
After an excellent 2025 season, Vowles is in the midst of a difficult period at Williams. Despite making the 2026 regulations their long-term priority, they have fallen down the field at the start of the year.
What’s clear is that whoever replaces Wolff will face an almighty challenge, akin to Laurent Mekies succeeding Horner last year.
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