F1 insider reveals Toto Wolff's Mercedes exit timeline

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Toto Wolff

F1 insider reveals Toto Wolff's Mercedes exit timeline

Toto Wolff sold 15 per cent of his shareholding in Mercedes last year

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 21 April 2026 09:12

Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff is 'slowly' approaching a departure from his team according to one insider.

Wolff sold 15 per cent of his shareholding in Mercedes last year to American billionaire George Kurtz, with the team principal's holding company owning one-third of Mercedes in total. The Austrian sold the share for £230million and his sale equated to five per cent of the team.

However, Wolff's role at Mercedes remains unchanged by the sale, with the Austrian staying on as team principal and chief executive officer, ushering the team into a brand new era for 2026.

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Mercedes couldn't have enjoyed a better start to the new regulations cycle, with a Silver Arrows driver victorious in all three rounds contested thus far.

The Brackley-based squad sit atop the 2026 constructors' standings, with Kimi Antonelli also leading the drivers' championship ahead of Russell.

Their recent triumphs harks back to the dawn of the hybrid era, which Mercedes and Wolff dominated from 2014 until 2021, and saw him rise to become one of the most successful team principals on the grid.

How long will Wolff remain in F1?

During a recent episode of The Race podcast, Edd Straw, Mark Hughes and ESPN journalist Nate Saunders placed F1's team principals in the limelight, ranking their attributes.

At one stage of the podcast, they discussed the longevity of the team principals in the paddock and where they would be in five years time.

It was during this portion, that Saunders suggested that Wolff is already on the path to an exit, albeit 'slowly' and will not be leaving anytime soon.

He explained: "It feels like Toto Wolff is on a bit of a glide path slowly away from that role.

"I think, in a few years, I wouldn’t imagine Toto being there [at Mercedes], unless he really still loves winning that much in five years time."

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