Mercedes principal Toto Wolff signs 3-year extension

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Formula 1 team.

The deal runs through 2026 for the 52-year-old Austrian, who joined Mercedes in 2013 and owns a third of the team.

There had been speculation about Wolff's future after a second straight disappointing season that included just one victory.

Mercedes won eight consecutive constructors' championships from 2014-21, with Lewis Hamilton capturing six of his seven drivers' titles during that span.

Wolff said the decision to maintain his day-to-day role as team principal came after conversations with co-owners Jim Ratcliffe and Ola Kallenius.

"I think the most important thing between the three of us is that we trust each other," Wolff told the Daily Telegraph on Monday. "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.

"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'."

Hamilton and George Russell will continue as the team's drivers in 2024 after signing two-year contracts.

Hamilton, 39, has not won a race since the end of 2021 but Wolff said he still believes he can chase an eighth drivers' championship -- breaking the record he shares with Michael Schumacher.

"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," Wolff said.

The 2024 F1 season begins March 2 in Bahrain.