James Vowles and Andy Cowell recall Toto Wolff's contribution from their Mercedes days.
Toto Wolff is the team principal of Mercedes Formula 1 team since 2010. He has won seven drivers championships and eight constructors championship in Formula 1. Wolff is one of the best team principals of F1 due to his success and his long stint with Mercedes.
As a the head of Mercedes F1, Toto Wolff has created many superstar drivers. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, George Russell are among the few examples. However, two of the 2025 team principals also owe their progress in F1 to the Mercedes team boss. James Vowles, team principal of Williams and Andy Cowell, team principal of Aston Martin F1 are former Mercedes employees.
Vowles was the Motorsport Strategy Director at Mercedes F1 until 2023. He joined Williams as their Team Principal in the 2024 season. Vowles’ close relationship with his former team boss was seen recently. It was revealed that he sent a message to Toto during the Monaco GP apologising to him about Williams strategy.
James Vowles said that his leadership and decision making is greatly influenced with Toto Wolff’s style.
“And there’s no doubt about it, I would have sunk without his expertise and guidance by my side, and it’s what he does really well, but he’s bashful and doesn’t talk about it too much. But it was a pleasure in that circumstance. There was a time that’s not very well known, but we spent a week together in his place in Austria and that was one of the best weeks of my life. So, there are some incredible things that you can do whilst you’re under the guidance of Toto.”
Andy Cowell, fellow team principal, was echoing his words regarding Toto Wolff. He was the managing director of Managing Director until 2020. Cowell made his return to the grid in 2024 as the CEO of Aston Martin and took over the role of Team Principal in 2025.
Looking back at his time with Mercedes,
“I think my time at Mercedes, I learned from Toto. I learned from Niki Lauda. I learned from Ola Källenius, and there are all these characters that you come across when you’re in the Mercedes family. And yeah, you try and remember the good bits and push and move forwards.”
Toto Wolff did not shy away from appreciating his former team members. He was quick to mention Andy’s work ethic and dedication to powertrains. Wolff also claimed that James Vowles was bound to be a team principal if not for Toto’s position in Mercedes.
