Toto s cross-border wisdom: thinking about Verstappen, and also seeking lessons from rugby and Guardiola

As the team owner, Toto Wolf has won all the honors he can win in the F1 arena.

Between 2014 and 2021, he led Mercedes Benz to win the team championship for eight consecutive years, setting a F1 record, and the team has also ranked among the greatest dynasties in the 75-year history of the World Championship.

Toto began to take charge of Mercedes Benz in 2013. Although the team's success has largely benefited from the foundation laid by Ross Brown before his arrival, he has since led the team through many different stages and eras - from the gunpowder-filled team competition between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to the post-Hamilton era that began this year.

The goal is consistent: do your best and win first place. But in recent years, this task has become increasingly difficult for Mercedes-Benz. Their racing design is not great enough.

"It is not that we have a high opinion of ourselves, but our goal is to win the game and strive for the championship," Toto said in an interview with TA. "At present, we are obviously in the first echelon, but we have not reached the top level. This year, McLaren is the benchmark; last year, it was Red Bull. Everyone is thinking about how to continuously improve the speed of the lap."

For Toto, this desire is not something that can be satisfied by just focusing on the F1 interior. Although the world of F1 is all-encompassing, occasionally taking a step back and looking at it from the perspective of other sports, fields or industries often brings new insights—the key is, it can lead to progress.

"I focus on everything outside the F1 circle," Toto said, "it's all about doing better in F1." The 2025 season is the fourth year of the implementation of current F1 racing rules. Since this set of rules came into effect in 2022, Mercedes-Benz has lost its top position in F1. In Toto's words, this is "a cruel awakening."

Mercedes-Benz's struggle in the era of ground effect is no longer a secret. They tried radical designs but failed, leaving the team behind the fastest competitors. Although they still win occasionally under certain conditions—especially in low temperatures—they usually lack the ultimate speed.

What's worse is that they never understand why the performance of the car is fluctuating. The signs of improvement shown at the end of the 2022 and 2023 seasons later proved to be just an illusion, not the obvious improvement the team believed. What's even more difficult is that Mercedes-Benz doesn't even understand why it can't make breakthroughs in racing design.

"Our racing performance is unstable," Toto said when he reviewed the 2024 season. "This year, our racing platform has been significantly more stable. When we make adjustments and expect the car to react accordingly, it does."

Mercedes-Benz maintained a steady performance at least in the first half of the 2025 season. George Russell frequently took the podium and also won the championship from pole position at the Canadian station - after Hamilton switched to Ferrari in the winter, he made a good start for Mercedes-Benz's "leading" role. Russell's new teammate, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli, also proved that Toto's decision to boldly use the rookie was correct: Miami's pole position and Canada's first podium, with remarkable performance.

Mercedes Benz may not be as good as McLaren, and it may be too late to seriously strive for the championship before the rules are revised again in 2026. But it shows that they have learned from the difficulties of the first few years of this era.

"If you are always in the momentum of losing, it is really hard because you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel," Toto said. "It's only when victory returns that everything will become clear. When you win, you will say 'Those days were hard, but we learned a lot', but when you are in trouble, you will only feel uncomfortable, don't feel growth, and only torment."

This year, the biggest change in Mercedes-Benz was Hamilton's departure. In his 12 years of playing for the team, he won 6 of seven world titles, becoming the all-time best in F1 statistics (winning more than Michael Schumacher, with the two's total championships being equal). Once upon a time, Hamilton had imagined to be with Mercedes for life, but in the end it was difficult to resist the temptation of Ferrari.

Hamilton's departure had an impact on Toto, both professionally and personally. Not only did he lose this driver who defined many successes in the team, he also watched a close friend leave. But as Toto said, this "new normal" quickly stabilized.

"I am proud that we have a good relationship even in difficult times. We celebrated 12 years of collaboration together - the longest and most successful collaboration between the driver and the team," Toto said. "Even if he is in a red garage instead of a black garage, we are still good friends who trust each other." It took Toto several races to get used to the change. "Obviously, when I saw the first photo of him standing in front of Enzo Ferrari's former residence, I realized 'Oh, that's true …'" Toto added with a smile, "It's a bit funny and funny, he actually wore a suit, and I said to him, 'It's incredible, I haven't let you wear a suit in 12 years!'"

Toto said they remain in close contact and that he and his wife Suzy will still be together with Hamilton outside the game.

Russell calmly took Hamilton's baton. His performance this year has won praise from the entire paddock. "George has never been a 'little follower'," Toto said, which can also be reflected in the results - Russell surpassed Hamilton in two seasons in his three seasons of his partnership.

Rumors about Mercedes-Benz's possible signing of Red Bull Max Verstappen (these rumors have not heated up when Toto was interviewed by TA). But Toto clearly sees Russell as an elite driver in F1. He said it is sometimes difficult to make such judgments because drivers’ performance “may be affected by racing performance”.

Toto added: "But we have a clear understanding of who is the best driver, and there are not many such people."

Rugby League is a sport that Toto has always admired, and it contains the principles of strength, teamwork and resilience. Moreover, as a tall teenager, he has also achieved some personal achievements in the sport - playing in the second row.

"Austrian international!" Toto proudly recalled, "I had two appearances. An Austrian played rugby - it was as rare as someone skiing in the Sahara! But we were very motivated at the time."

But did he joke that there were only 15 players to choose from?

"No!" He smiled and retorted, pretending to be offended, "You said the situation too badly! I was the school champion in 1990 and 1991!"

Kissing aside, Toto has always respected the top players in the field of rugby, especially the New Zealand All Blacks, and their concept of "the battle suit carries heritage". Dr. Seri Evans is a well-known sports psychologist who has made great contributions to the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup wins in 2011 and 2015. He also played for the Mercedes-Benz during Toto's tenure.

"I'm very interested in competitive performance," Toto said. "I admire those who do the ultimate in something, whether in the sports world or in the arts world. I'm sincerely interested and admire when I see someone do it well. Obviously, sports events can clearly show whether a person is good enough because the timer never lies. That's why I like watching sports."

Another person who has brought great inspiration to Toto is Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. Like Toto, Guardiola has achieved unprecedented success in one team and has been constantly innovating in different eras. Toto said the two met “years ago” through a co-sponsor.

"He is my friend," Toto described Guardiola, "Obviously, he has his own life, I focus on F1, but we always have connections and often have pleasant and in-depth communication."

Toto found himself in common with Guardiola: he had an extreme or even nearly paranoid pursuit of competitive performance, and he was eager to do his best.

"Our energy is totally focused on this, and no distraction is allowed," Toto said. "This may mean that sometimes we seem a little paranoid, but it is just a sign of extreme concentration. Many of the people I know who have succeeded in their respective fields are because they are focused only on their own careers."

But this "focus" does not mean ignoring everything outside of F1. For Toto, all his professional thinking will eventually return to the same priority: Mercedes-Benz.

"When I focus on the financial market, I think about the strategies, risk taking or risk aversion and other aspects, which can be applied to F1," Toto said. "What impact does politics have on our sponsorship environment? Then there are any details, such as tariffs - what does tariffs mean to F1? All of this will eventually focus on my focus on F1, just to do my best."

Toto believes that it is "hard to say" what these factors mean to F1 as a whole, because there is too much volatility in global politics and economy. “It’s a changing goal,” he said. “Essentially, for our industry, instability and turmoil in financial markets are by no means a good thing when sponsors consider investing in the sport. Their core business may be different today than they were yesterday.”

"Mercedes exported to the United States suddenly pay a 25% tariff, which obviously changes their business case. How does that affect us? When you look at the dynamics in these areas, you will find that there are so many similarities to what’s happening in our circle.”

Toto realizes that F1 is often too closed. “You’ll find that people seem to think F1 is everything,” he said. People's lives revolve around one race after another, one track after another, one airport after another. But under the gaze of the whole world, you cannot ignore the influence of the outside world.

"If you don't focus on these aspects," Toto said, "you can't deduce what matters to our team and F1."

After Christian Horner was suddenly removed from the Red Bull team leader last week, Toto became the longest-term team leader of the F1 team. He is also one of the few team bosses with non-engineering backgrounds in recent years, and now people with engineering backgrounds are gradually becoming a trend.

Two engineers emerged in F1 and took up senior leadership positions. They were both core members of Toto's Mercedes-Benz champion team. James Walls was once the director of Mercedes-Benz racing sports strategy and is Toto's right-hand man. He was poached by Williams in January 2023 as team leader; Andy Cowell is now the team owner of Aston Martin and was once in charge of Mercedes-Benz's engine department.

When TA asked Walls at a press conference how Toto had impacted his career and leadership, Toto, who was sitting next to him, joked in the microphone that "affected all aspects." But for Walls, it's no joke.

"Toto brought me around and slowly allowed me to take on more and more responsibilities in the organization, exposing me to the difficulties he faces every day, but always in a safe and positive environment," Walls said. "There is no doubt that without his expertise and guidance, I would have been defeated."

Toto is preparing for another "new era" for Mercedes Benz in 2026 - by which time the new technical rules will take effect, and a blank piece of opportunity is expected to bring the team back to its peak. The last time F1 modified its engine rules, Mercedes Benz opened up the gap with other teams, and this advantage lasted for eight years. Now, similar opportunities come again.

"My idea is to stay in the fleet for a long time, focus on the development of the next 5, 10, 20 years, and think, 'What have we done right? What are we doing wrong? Which decisions prove to be less ideal? What changes can we make in the future to do better?'" Toto said, "It's always an interesting process and something I really love."

For Toto, the key is the future: learn from the difficult years in recent years, combine everything we have learned from the world outside of F1, and write a new chapter for Mercedes Benz.