Mercedes boss Toto Wolff 'would not hesitate for a second' on being replaced as Silver Arrows team principal

Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff has stated that he is willing to let someone else replace him as the team's boss.

Wolff first joined Mercedes in 2012 when he left Williams F1 to become the executive director of the German giant's Formula One team. He also acquired a 30% stake in the team — which later increased to 33%.

The Austrian has had immense success with the team, winning multiple Drivers' Championships and Constructors' Championships and becoming the sport's most successful team in the recent past.

That said, Wolff is willing to walk away from his role as the team principal when the time comes. He told Crash.net:

"I've always been very open about how I felt going forward. I've made a step beyond the actual employment and my role within the team of being a shareholder is a long-term decision.

He added:

"I keep introspecting of how much I can contribute to the organization, and if one day I believe that there are shortcomings in an area, be it on the sporting, technical or commercial side or in the politics, I would not hesitate for a second about appointing someone to that area of finding someone who could take over what I do.

Explaining his views, the 51-year-old stated that the team's growth is his main focus and said:

"Because as a co-shareholder, my main interest is that the team prospers and that we are winning on the track. That is 90 percent of what I do and the other 10 percent is business or financial development of the company."

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"Never say never" - Toto Wolff on James Vowles' return to Mercedes in the future

Ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, James Vowels, the chief strategist at Mercedes, left the team to become Williams F1's team principal.

Vowles, who has a 21-year career in F1, has been with the Silver Arrows since 2010 and served as their Motorsport Strategy Director for the last four years. He previously held key engineering and strategy roles not only at Mercedes but also at Brawn GP, Honda and BAR.

Toto Wolff, however, hasn't ruled out Vowels' return to Mercedes in the future. He said:

"Never say never because he is great. I hope that he is going to have a long career as team principal at Williams and hopefully, we see him in the press conferences after successful weekends.

He added:

"He could have a 10-year stint there. You just need to let the bird fly out and do his own thing, and not at that stage anticipating that he is going to come back."