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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is one of the most influential figures in F1 at the moment due to his role as the team principal and Executive Chairman of the German team. Under his leadership, the Brackley-based outfit has won seven Drivers and eight Constructors Championships during the period of 2014-2021.
He took charge of the team in 2014 replacing the outgoing Ross Brawn and shared responsibilities with Paddy Lowe. However, after Lowe's own move to Williams later, he became the sole team boss at Mercedes and even owns a stake in the brand.
Here are five more facts about Toto Wolff that people might not know.
#1 Toto Wolff didn't start racing until he was 17
As per Mercedes' official website, the Austrian did not start his racing career until he was 17 years old, becoming interested after returning from a trip to Amsterdam.
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Wolff and his friends decided to watch one of their mates, Phillip Peter, drive at Nurburgring and caught the bug after visiting the paddock. He then started his racing journey at 17.
#2 Wolff gave up his career because of Nick Heidfeld
The Mercedes team principal has claimed that drivers like Alex Wurz and Nick Heidfeld were one of the main reasons behind his decision to end his racing career.
"Alex Wurz is somebody who I have mentioned in the past but also Nick Heidfeld. He had just started his racing when it was my last year in Formula Ford. You could immediately see these kids were different. They were just faster straight from the get-go, even in their rookie seasons," Wolff said.
#3 Hans Werner Aufrecht is Wolff's mentor
AMG founder Hans Werner Aufrecht is Toto Wolff's mentor. Aufrecht allowed him to invest in the Mercedes DTM team and in 49% of the stake in Aufrecht's company called HWA. The Austrian revealed,
"I got to know Mr. Aufrecht. That was really one of the greatest personalities I have ever met in my life. He became a mentor of mine and now a friend of mine. He's 79 today and he allowed me to co-invest in this fantastic company called HWA. I bought 49 percent and we grew it, and grew it, and listed it on the stock exchange as this was part of my investment strategy."
#4 An F1 world champion's observation helped shape Wolff's leadership values
Four-time F1 world champion Alain Prost's friction with Ayrton Senna at McLaren proved to be a critical lesson for Toto Wolff, influencing his leadership values.
The Frenchman claimed that the main reason behind the animosity among him and his teammates in the late '80s stemmed from "the in-transparency of the management. They never knew what the agenda of the senior management in McLaren was."
The Austrian revealed that he implemented "the ultimate transparency. We'd talk about things. Sometimes it is the inconvenient truth, things you don't want to hear."
#5 Wolff's proudest moment came at the 2014 Austrian GP
Toto Wolff's proudest moment in F1 came at his home race in Austria when Mercedes finished 1-2 and Williams F1 team finished 3-4.
Unbeknownst to many, the 52-year-old had been the team boss at Mercedes and a shareholder in Williams at the same time.
He later gave up his shares in the Grove-based team but recollected that he "realized that I was just involved in two teams that finished in the top four positions of a Formula One World Championship race."
