The only other Friday in the current Formula 1 season when Scuderia Ferrari started a Grand Prix weekend as strongly as they did at Silverstone was during the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. That early promise in Melbourne turned out to be one of the last fleeting moments of optimism before the Italian team was once again forced to confront recurring technical difficulties — particularly concerning ride height issues and the challenge of bringing tyres into the optimal temperature window during qualifying sessions.
Among the top teams on the grid, Ferrari remains the only one yet to win a race in the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship. This ongoing lack of competitiveness has naturally led to questions being raised about the performance and future of team principal Frederic Vasseur, whose current contract with the Maranello-based outfit is nearing its end.
Toto Wolff, the Team Principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, came to the defence of his long-time friend and colleague during the post-race press conference in Austria. He also reiterated his stance in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, expressing full confidence in Frederic Vasseur and calling for patience.
“If it were up to me,” said Wolff, “I would let him work and move forward. I would set clear objectives for the team and support him to the best of my abilities. That’s how I see it from the outside. I’ve known Fred for 25 years and I know exactly what he is capable of. I’m sure he can achieve great things with that team — if he is given the proper authority.”
Wolff added a candid remark about the pressures of modern Formula 1 leadership: “He should grow a thicker skin. This isn’t football, where changing the coach can sometimes be enough. Building a winning Formula 1 team takes at least three or four years. But nowadays, it feels like teams are operating with revolving doors. At this point, Christian Horner and I are the only two dinosaurs left.”
Interestingly, former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner himself recently admitted that he had been approached in the past by Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who attempted to lure him away from Red Bull Racing’s headquarters in Milton Keynes to take charge of Scuderia Ferrari — the most historic and prestigious team on the Formula 1 grid.
In contrast, Toto Wolff was clear that a move to Ferrari was never on the table — not because of a lack of interest from the Italian team, but due to a fundamental difference in structure and approach. “For me, it’s a different matter altogether,” Wolff explained. “I’ve never been an employee, and at Ferrari, the team principal is an employee. I’m an entrepreneur — I own one-third of the Mercedes Formula 1 team. I represent this incredible brand.”
Toto Wolff holds his share of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team alongside German automotive giant Daimler and British multinational chemical company Ineos. His role is not that of a simple executive, but of a co-owner and brand ambassador. In fact, thanks to Mercedes’ strong 2024 financial performance, the Austrian manager recently pocketed a dividend of over $50 million — a reflection of the team’s stability and profitability both on and off the racetrack.
Toto Wolff’s comments not only reinforce his loyalty to Mercedes but also highlight the very different organisational models between top teams in Formula 1. While Ferrari has traditionally maintained a corporate hierarchy, where the team principal reports directly to upper management, Toto Wolff’s structure is one of shared leadership and equity ownership — making any hypothetical move to Maranello highly unlikely, if not impossible.
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