Wolff wants Mercedes’ culture to support success for decades

Mercedes has returned to championship-winning form, but Toto Wolff says the workplace culture he wants to build is meant to sustain the team beyond the current campaign. He says staff should be able to thrive, speak up and make mistakes, with those standards embedded in Mercedes for the long term.

Asked about George Russell’s recent praise for his leadership, Wolff said stability matters but noted that many people had also joined Mercedes recently. He chose “safety” as his word for the desired environment and said the team is not run on a “hire-and-fire” basis.

Mercedes won its ninth constructors’ title in 2026, while Kimi Antonelli claimed the drivers’ crown in his second season, ending four years without a championship. Mercedes won only seven grands prix from 2022 through 2025, after eight consecutive constructors’ titles from 2014 through 2021.

Wolff said those standards must be lived day by day, not merely put on a PowerPoint presentation. He acknowledged that Mercedes sometimes falls short, but said the aim is to embed the culture over the long term. For him, “soon” means ten years.