Villeneuve: Wolff calling shots at Mercedes whatever shareholding he has

Wolff has combined his role as Team Principal with his shareholding position since he joined the team back in January 2013 after Mercedes bought Brawn GP from Ross Brawn.

Being a shareholder meant that Wolff somehow had his Team Principal role secured, which raised questions about what should happen if he ended up selling part of his stake.

However, 1997 Formula 1 Champion Jacques Villeneuve claimed nothing would change while also commenting on Mercedes' $6-Billion price tag based on recent evaluations of the F1 teams' values.

"Wow, that value has gone up hugely!" Villeneuve exclaimed. "It doesn't change much for the team, ultimately, because a third owner is not a majority. You still don't call the shots. Toto's calling the shots anyway, whatever shareholding he has.

"I guess the shareholding was part of the package bringing him to Mercedes at the time. And it's just like hitting the stock markets. He made a killing. Yeah. Now it's at the peak.

"Who knows if it will stagnate there? F1 has been booming," the Canadian went on. "But then there's always a period where it stagnates a bit.

"And what's the next step? Because it is now the biggest sport in the world. Can it become even bigger? Probably."

Wolff is looking to offload only 5% of his shares, and his contract as Team Principal runs till the end of the 2026 F1 season, and Villeneuve went on explaining why the Austrian will not be slowing down any time soon.

"Toto is passionate; he's a passionate racer," he said. "And he's very attached to his drivers as well. So, I don't see him stepping away that much. He's been a driving force inside the team."

(Quotes from BetVictor Casino)