Toto Wolff will remain Mercedes team boss until 2023 after signing a new three-year deal, it was announced on Friday.
The Austrian’s future has been uncertain this year as he hinted at taking on a new role within a new management structure he would implement at the Brackley-based team.
However, that has now been put to rest with this contract extension, although in the press release, Mercedes confirmed: “He [Wolff] will have the subsequent opportunity to transition to a new executive function within the organisation when he decides it is the right time to do so.”
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The news is also a major positive for Lewis Hamilton, who is also expected to have his future at Mercedes confirmed on Friday.
While the seven-time world champion has insisted the wait for a new deal was simply about timing, other speculation has suggested his future was somewhat tied to what Wolff decided to do.
Equally interesting in the announcement is the news that technical partner INEOS has acquired a three-way equal stake in the Mercedes F1 team along with Toto Wolff and Daimler.
This comes after a year of speculation as to whether the German manufacturer would pull the plug on its works team, with Lawrence Stroll initially linked to a takeover as well as INEOS.
Of course, such a step does leave the door open for the company owned by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe to buyout Daimler in the future, with the team signing onto the new Concorde Agreement until 2025.
In the meantime, however, the Mercedes name is in F1 to stay, although it was previously revealed the AMG brand would be more prevalent on the car and in the team from 2021.