Wolff to replace Haug

Yup, I heard of this yesterday and noted Wolff will probably have to sell off his interest in Williams as it would be very strange to have a majority shareholder of another team heading several departments of another team. Daimler's board would never let that happen, one would think anyway!

 

Wolff and Lauda will buy stocks in the MB F1 team.

Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

BTW: Is this Wolff related to the F1 Wolff team from the seventies? Is he the son of or just coincidence?

 

Toto Wolff is to become a shareholder and executive director of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, it was announced on Monday.

As AUTOSPORT reported, Wolff has agreed to take a direct responsibility in the management of the Brackley-based team as it bids to lift its performances in the next few years.

He will also take over control of all Mercedes-Benz's motorsport activities.

As well as Wolff's new appointment, Mercedes has also announced that its non-executive chairman Niki Lauda is to buy shares in the team.

Aabar had a previous 40 per cent stake in the team. It was then bought back by Daimler and has now been shifted on, with Wolff having a 30 per cent stake and Lauda a 10 per cent one. Daimler owns the remaining 60 per cent.

Wolff's main focus will be Formula 1, and although he will be co-ordinating DTM activities, he will not be the representative at races like Norbert Haug was.

Team CEO Nick Fry remains a part of Mercedes for now, but his future role is being discussed.

Wolff has stood down from a role as executive director of the Williams team due to the Mercedes switch, but will retain a shareholding he has in the Grove-based outfit.

Speaking about the new job, Wolff said he was excited about the opportunity, and made it clear he was leaving Williams on good terms.

"Mercedes is one of the most important participants in motorsport worldwide," he said. "I am not only a big fan, but also a long standing friend and enthusiast of the brand.

"I am looking forward to the challenge and, along with preparing for a successful racing season, also want to focus on the targeted promotion of new talent.

"I am leaving Williams on good terms and I will miss the team and friends I have made there. I'd also like to wish Frank and the whole of Williams the best of luck for the future."

Mercedes-Benz chairman Dieter Zetsche believes that Wolff's appointment was a vital one for helping his team achieve its ambitions, following the decision by former motorsport boss Haug to resign at the end of last year.

"As an entrepreneur, investor and motorsport manager, Toto Wolff has proven that this sport runs in his blood; at the same time, he is also well aware of the economic necessities of the business," said Zetsche.

"With Toto Wolff, we have gained for our Formula 1 team not only an experienced motorsport specialist, but also a longstanding enthusiast of the Mercedes-Benz brand.

"Together with him and Niki Lauda, we will further develop our motorsport activities and guide our Silver Arrows into the next era."

 

Weird, Mercedes are allowing him to keep his stake in Williams.

 

Mercedes will want a new customer for 2014 as they will probably lose Force India to Ferrari, who are losing toro Rosso to Renault.

The equilibrium is reinstated, Bianchi at Force India and no new ugly Clio Williams around.

 

Wow! Certainly didn't see that coming. I kinda figured he was Franks heir apparent.

+1

OTOH, Williams are publicly traded and he's obviously made a full disclosure. No big deal I guess.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Bump

 

I think not;

- IIRC, Walter is "Wolf", Toto is "Wolff"

I did however learn that his wife (Susie) has, since early last year, been a Williams test driver..... Incestuous or what!

Cheers,
Ian

 

And she has also been racing DTM, which he will now head up for Merc.

Hmmmm.

 

Looks to me that Mercedes has already found the next owners of their team when they want to pull out of F1, as they inevitab ly will.

 

Hmm, there is a clever thought. You might be right on the money (pun intended).

 

But when they do, many F1 fans here on the forum will celebrate the fact that MB's most recent F1 effort lasted longer than BMW, Honda, Toyota and Porsche. And all of the team members on the Mercedes team will also rejoice in the fact that MB's last WCC in F1 was won in the 50's.

 

Williams to MB ? I'm betting he'll know he's not in Kansas anymore.

 

They won a race, something Toyota only dreamed about. IF, they pull out, their fans will also be able to celebrate their wins as an engine manufacturer for many years to come. Again, something Toyota only dreamed about.

Oh, and you're right, they do have a WCC.

 

Most of us thrives to be better and not livinging in the past, but we all understand that it is not necessary a trait shared by all. And yes, M-B should hold their heads high and chant "We still suck, just not as bad....." while exiting.

Oh, I am still waiting for my new M-B T-shirt designed by Charlie Sheen that says, "We won the F1 WCC back in th 50's, WINNER !!!".

 

Uh, MB is still on the grid and judging by how many people they're poaching they're going to be here for awhile.

BTW - You're like the only person in the history of the world that seems to think that wins in the past "don't count."

Damn, I guess we better tell Ferrari that all their wins Pre-2000 have been washed from the books! It's the Tifoso1 creed. Also, McLaren, Lotus and Williams have zero wins because they had someone else build their engines and therefore are not real teams.

 

It will be great if they do, and I hope all of their off-season moves will pay off. But I still want and hope that Ferrari will win the titles next year.

But like many others, I feel that this may be their final effort in their current F1 stint. IMO, it is a shame that BMW, Honda and Toyota all left F1. I enjoy seeing major manufactures competiting on the international stage.

 

I agree, but constant FIA rule meddling ran them off. Manufacturers are much better than teams like Marussia, HRT, etc. buckless at the back...

 

I doubt that very much.

They may have said that as an excuse but the fact is that they all sucked. That plus the huge costs drove them out of F1.

It's what will eventually lead to MB's departure as well.

 

Evidently you are too busy formulating your own reality in your head and not reading my posts. If that's the case, then there is no reason to continue this discussion with you any further. It's been entertaining at the most, have a nice weekend.

 

True, some more than others.

Totally disagree here. They all jumped in when spending in F1 was more out of control than it ever had been and left AFTER there had been big measures to cut costs.

While sucking had a lot to do with it, constant rule changes and idiotic measures like the engine freeze and testing ban finally pissed manufacturers off enough to leave. If you're a manufacturer, what's the point of making a big investment in F1 if meddling with the rules (AKA dumbing down) allows teams with 1/4 budget to hang with and often beat you?

What's the point in playing if you can't showcase your technology (engine freeze)? Or exploit your superior resources to win (constant testing/unlimited windtunnel)? If I ran BMW, I would be pissed off in 2009 to spend a crapload of $ to fight with one hand tied behind the back relative to what we could be doing in terms of pushing the engine and evolving aero through testing and wind tunnel time. Would you be happy to spend a crapload of $ on a new wind tunnel only for the FIA to tell you that you can only use it a set amount of time per month? It's not the costs per se...it's the costs that simply went to WASTE.

Now all these brilliant moves have ran off the big boys and we're left with the joke "new teams" that Mad Max thought were so great. One of 'em is already bankrupt, another is probably heading that way, and none have scored a point after 3 years.

Great work guys, really improved the racing. And this is precisely why the engine freeze on the new engines is beyond stupid. They want to attract new manufacturers yet don't want any engine to have an advantage over another. If you're a big dog in Porsche/Audi's (for example) engineering department you've gotta be thinking "what's the point in spending $100 million to make an engine that's relegated to only being "as good as" your competitors?

 

We will have to agree to disagree.

 

Yep. They'll realize that spending Williams money and expecting Red Bull results is a recipe for disappointment and will be gone in less than 5 years.