No plans for Mercedes to withdraw from F1 - Wolff

Toto Wolff has said that there are no plans for Mercedes to withdraw from Formula 1 amid the topic being raised at internal meetings for the team.

The Silver Arrows made their return to F1 in 2010 after buying out the 2009 championship winning team of Brawn GP and taking on Nico Rosberg and a returning Michael Schumacher as it’s drivers.

The teams first win didn’t come until 2012 when Rosberg won at the. Chinese Grand Prix before winning both the drivers and constructors’ championships in 2014, the start of five successive doubles.

But Daimler AG who are part owners of the Mercedes AMG F1 team check in with meetings with the team and one question that gets asked is their plan to continue running in the sport.

Wolff said (quoted by PlanetF1.com): “We are not pulling out.

“We had the discussion in the board because as a large corporation and a brand you need to choose ‘do you want to be in here for the long term?’ and go through cycles.

“There might be times that will be very difficult, like the early 2010s, and then there will be years that are great.

“Are we prepared as a brand to stick to Formula 1 long term and go through these cycles?

“Or on the other hand, is the environment changing and do we want to take the maximum success and then take a decision on whether to go or stay?

“I think that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.”