Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda extend at Mercedes until 2020
After its change in technical direction, Mercedes has secured the presence for four additional seasons of its two main leaders, Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda. The two men are also minority shareholders of the team.
Backstage, the battle for the next commercial agreements governing F1 is starting to take shape. Indeed, the current Concorde Agreements are set to expire in 2020, after being last signed in 2013. This means that Mercedes has contractually committed to being present in F1 at least until this deadline.
In order to arrive at the negotiating table in the best frame of mind, Mercedes has therefore decided to secure its leadership team by extending the contracts of Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda with the same deadline, as noted with satisfaction by Dieter Zietsche, the CEO of the German manufacturer: « It is very good news that Toto and Niki have extended their commitment. In 2013, we restructured the team management with the clear objective of improving our performance. Since then, the results have exceeded our expectations. A key element of this success has been the combination of Toto’s entrepreneurial qualities and Niki’s experience. Their renewed commitment provides significant continuity to our program for the next four years. »
But the two men are not employees like the others in the group and the team. In fact, they are also shareholders as Toto Wolff acquired 30% of the team’s capital while Niki Lauda owns 10%, the remaining balance belonging to the German brand. This shareholder arrangement allows the manufacturer to reduce its financial exposure while involving its two leaders in the team’s success.
So we are far from the rumors that had wanted Niki Lauda to leave the team due to disagreements and differences in personality in the leadership duo.
