Toto Wolff, Formula 1 executive

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Toto Wolff is CEO and Team Principal of the Mercedes Formula 1 motor racing team. He has led the team to an unprecedented seven consecutive drivers’ championships – six with Lewis Hamilton - and eight consecutive constructors' championships. He is the most successful manager in Formula 1 history, and arguably one of the most successful managers in any sport. Toto was born Torger Wolff in Vienna. When he was eight his father was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died when Toto was 15. Toto found himself looking after his mother and sister from a young age which he believes contributed to the strength of character he developed as an adult. Toto's original ambition in motorsport was to be a driver, and he started competing in his late teens. Following the deaths of drivers Ayrton Senna and then Roland Ratzenberger, his sponsor withdrew support, which forced him to give up his dream. He turned his attention to business and made a fortune as an entrepreneur. In 2009 he bought a stake in the Williams Formula 1 team and four years later bought a 30% stake in the Mercedes team. Toto is married to the former racing driver Susie Stoddart and they divide their time between the UK and Monaco. Their six-year-old son Jack is already showing an interest in karting. DISC ONE: Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack DISC TWO: Mama - Genesis DISC THREE: Money Can’t Buy It - Annie Lennox DISC FOUR: Iron Sky - Paolo Nutini DISC FIVE: We Are The Champions – Queen DISC SIX: Another Day in Paradise - Phil Collins DISC SEVEN: Fallen - Lauren Wood DISC EIGHT: The Power of Love - Frankie Goes to Hollywood BOOK CHOICE: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas LUXURY ITEM: Diving fins and a mask CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Fallen - Lauren Wood Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts
0:04.9	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern, and this is the Desert Island Disks podcast.
0:08.6	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them
0:13.9	if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.5	And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:21.2	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:30.0	My cast away this week is the Formula One executive Total Wolf.
0:48.2	He's the CEO, co-owner and team principal at Mercedes,
0:51.9	where he's been at the helm for a decade.
0:54.0	Under his leadership, they've won an unprecedented seven consecutive drivers championships,
0:59.6	six with Lewis Hamilton and eight consecutive constructors championships.
1:04.2	This makes him the most successful manager in Formula One history,
1:08.1	some say, in any sport.
1:10.0	He was born in Vienna in 1972 and fell in love with motor racing when he was 17.
1:15.5	As he puts it, I found my identity.
1:18.2	When his own career on the grid didn't work out, he turned his attention to business
1:22.4	and made a fortune as an entrepreneur.
1:24.5	By the early 2000s, he was back racing again, this time as a hobby.
1:29.2	A decade later, he bought a stake in his first Formula One team.
1:33.0	The road to success hasn't always been a smooth one.
1:35.9	When he was just 15, he lost his father to cancer.
1:38.9	In 2009, he was lucky to escape with his own life.
	...

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