'Wolff could step into a Lauda-like role'

This year Toto Wolff will act as team boss at Mercedes, as he has done in recent years. We'll have to wait and see what the future looks like afterwards, because a new rumour suggests that he's going to distance himself from that role. In the meantime he will stay involved in the team and Lawrence Stroll, owner of Racing Point, will also come into the picture. The Austrians and Canadians have the intention to take over Mercedes as a team.

Monitoring role

Should this shift indeed take place, a new person will be appointed as team boss. However, Toto Wolff will not disappear from the picture, because according to several additional reports from Germany, Wolff would step into a different role. In recent years the late Niki Lauda has always stood next to Wolff as advisor, just like Helmut Marko is at Red Bull Racing.

The new role that Wolff could take on is of a similar order, with Wolff acting as supervisor. A first 'test' to see how the team would do without Wolff has already taken place. Last year the Austrian was not present at the Grand Prix at Interlagos in Brazil. It was then James Allison who performed his duties and although it was a chaotic race, it all went well internally.

The German Bild now reports that Wolff has the intention to also play a supervisory role in Brackley, where the team's factory is located. From that position, Wolff oversees everything much more on location, where he can exert influence. That would be easier than when he has to sit on the pit wall every time during races, although Wolff always sits in the garage itself. When compared to Lauda, there are similarities.

Racing Point

It is known that Wolff has recently bought a substantial share package from Aston Martin, and the new Racing Point for 2020 is also seen as the 'pink Mercedes'. The fact that Stroll and Wolff are talking to each other in the background and making deals seems to be becoming more and more clear and this could lead to an interesting outcome. A merger between Mercedes and Racing Point cannot be ruled out, but a similar situation may arise as with Red Bull Racing.

The energy drinks brand has a top team with the mentioned team and as a junior team they of course have AphaTauri. In a situation where Wolff and Stroll take the lead of the two teams, it could be that Mercedes remains the top team of course, with Racing Point officially becoming a junior team.

Another hint in that direction is of course the appointment of Tobias Moers at Aston Martin, who comes directly from Daimler AG. All these things overlap and Mercedes as a team seems to be disappearing more and more into the background in all these speculations, while they have indicated no intention of leaving the sport.

From the role of supervisor, Wolff would be able to keep an eye on everything when a junior team or a merger comes into being. Basically, he assumes the role that Lauda had, but in the bigger picture, his role could very much resemble that of Helmut Marko. After all, he controls both Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri.

For now, however, it's all speculation and we'll have to wait and see what the outcome will be.