FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - July 22, 2023 Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is seen before practice REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Mercedes Formula One team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff has signed a three-year deal to lead the former world champions into the sport's new engine era in 2026, he said on Monday.
The 52-year-old Austrian told the Daily Telegraph in an interview that he still felt he was the best man for the job and co-owners Mercedes and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, boss of Ineos, agreed.
"At the end of the day, as a shareholder myself, I want the best return on investment. And the best return on investment is winning," said Wolff.
"I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me. I make sure that I have people around who can tell me otherwise. In the end the three of us decided: 'Let’s do it again'."
Mercedes won an unprecedented eight constructors' titles in a row from 2014 to 2021 but finished third in 2022 and runners-up last year.
Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton has not won a race since 2021 while the team's last grand prix victory was by George Russell in Brazil in 2022.
Wolff said he was hopeful the 2024 car would be more competitive after two years of domination by Red Bull and triple champion Max Verstappen.
The Austrian quoted former racer Anthony Davidson, who still serves as a simulator driver for Mercedes, reporting that the car "feels like a car for the first time in two years" after driving the Australian GP layout.
Wolff was also adamant that Hamilton, now 39, could still win a record eighth title.
"His ability is on a different level. If we are able to give him a car that he actually feels, that drives in a way that he can trust, he will be on the level that’s needed to win the championship. 39 is no age."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
