How Mercedes boss Toto Wolff became F1's $2billion man and 'it should have been more'

Toto Wolff

How Mercedes boss Toto Wolff became F1's $2billion man and 'it should have been more'

Niki took 10 percent

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Sunday 30 August 2026 12:27 Updated: 12:48

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Toto Wolff bought a stake in Mercedes which is now worth an astonishing $2billion, and but for Niki Lauda it would have been even more.

The 54-year-old Austrian is now a team principal with a difference in the F1 paddock - he owns a piece of the team he runs. A pretty sizeable piece.

Wolff retains 28 percent of the Silver Arrows, having sold five percent late last year for around $300million. The 33 percent he purchased for a song back in 2013 (estimates are c. $55million) had grown to $2billion. The team valued then at $165million is now valued at $6billion.

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It's quite the blueprint for success on and off the track, and it is no surprise that Wolff's great rival - former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner - is hoping to copy it should he return to the sport.

Wolff has now spoken in detail about the deal came about, and about how it could have been even more but for the man who became his best friend - the late, great Lauda.

Their story together began in early 2013 when Wolff was able to move to Mercedes from Williams, and able to make what would turn out to be a ridiculously valuable investment.

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How Toto Wolff Mercedes acquisition went down

Wolff told the SAP podcast: "I ended up owning a stake in the Williams Formula 1 team of around 15 percent - could have gone up with an option Frank Williams gave me.

"And then Mercedes asked me whether I wanted to become a shareholder and run it, and the deal was 40 percent that I could own and 60 percent Mercedes. And it was a huge honour to be given that opportunity. They had to the financing also. And Niki Lauda was the non-executive chairman back in the day.

"The negotiations happened very secretly between myself and my group of people, my partner Rene [Berger] and Mercedes. And it took almost a year. And then eventually we said okay, that's it.

"And then the board of Mercedes said, well we've got to speak to Niki because he's our non-executive chairman. So I met him in Brazil."

That meeting with Lauda was a pivotal one in Wolff's career and life. In one sense it cost him $600million. In another, it gained him a 'best friend'.

Lauda: 'I want to have 10 percent'

Toto continued: "I was still at Williams and he said: 'How is Williams?'. 'That is good, but I got to tell you, I just bought 40 percent of the Mercedes team'. And he said: 'Excuse me, what? I got to think about that overnight'.

Lauda and Wolff were a great team at Mercedes.

"So Niki came back two hours later - he was very quick and pragmatic and he said: 'Okay I think that can be a success, I think you're an okay businessman. I want to have 10 percent, same terms as you, and you have me on board'. So I said: 'Okay, that's what we do'."

The rest as they say is now history, with Wolff and Lauda driving Mercedes to an era of unbridled success which brought six world titles for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg.

Wolff and Lauda became the dream team with racing and business expertise par excellence. The driving forces behind an operation which is now just as successful on track as on.

The team principal himself admits that was partly down to the freedom and control given to him and Lauda.

"We were given the keys for Mercedes, which is something that in a corporate world is very, very rare. And until today, they've continued to trust me and trust the team."

Wolff was given freedom to operate by Mercedes.

Childhood tragedy made Toto prioritise control

Acquiring that stake in Mercedes allowed Wolff to do something he prioritised from a very early stage in his life. He was just 15 years old when his father died after a battle with cancer, and the young Toto vowed he would never rely on anybody else for his money or his future. He wanted control.

"When I had to take control of my young life, you know, childhood and being responsible and accountable for my decisions.

"And it's something that always felt easy to me, taking decisions because I was obliged to as a child."

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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F1 Mercedes Toto Wolff