Toto Wolff is one of the most fascinating people in sports. As the team principal of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, Wolff manages 1,200 employees and oversees a business that generated $853 million in revenue and $161 million in net profit last year.
But that’s only half the story. Wolff isn’t just a team principal; he also owns a 33% equity stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team. And with the Mercedes F1 team now valued at around $6 billion, Wolff’s equity stake is now worth $2 billion or more.
So for this week’s interview, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Toto Wolff for a 30-minute conversation at the Motorsport conference last week in New York City.
During our conversation, we discussed:
Why Mercedes initially declined to participate in Drive to Survive
How Toto knew Kimi Antonelli was ready for F1 at 18 years old
Why the Mercedes Formula 1 team built a $2.7 million hypercar
If the United States can handle more than three grand prix races
Building modified F1 cars for Apple’s new Formula 1 movie with Brad Pitt
The story about Toto cleaning toilets when he first joined Mercedes
Spoiler Alert: With 24 races in 9 months, everyone knows the Formula 1 schedule is demanding. But Toto Wolff helped put those numbers in context. The Mercedes team boss told me that he spends 550 hours flying and 220 nights in a hotel room each year.
Enjoy the interview, and we’ll talk later this week.
