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What Is Toto Wolff’s Actual Name?

Published 10/27/2021, 11:39 AM EDT

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Toto Wolff is one of the most well-known names in F1. Synonymous with Mercedes and its eminent success, Toto Wolff’s name carries a lot of weight to it. However, few know it isn’t the team boss’s real name.

Who is Torger Wolff?

On January 12, 1972, in Vienna, Austria, the world welcomed Torger Christian Wolff. At 17, Torger caught the motorsport bug after watching a friend race around the Nurburgring. Thereafter, the young boy knew this was where he wanted to be in the future. However, his future turned out a little different than he expected.

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At 17, Torger Wolff wanted to get behind the wheel. “It was the man able or not able to control this machine and it felt like modern gladiators. This is when I said to myself ‘I want to become a racing driver’. I was 17 at the time.”

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However, coming from humble beginnings, single-seaters wasn’t the ideal route for Torger. ‘”I couldn’t afford single-seaters at the beginning, so I was doing something called the SEAT Ibiza Cup.” Wolff grew into the road car and thus, his racing career took off.

Although, it didn’t last long as financial problems got in the way. However, Torberg was a resilient man and started his own business selling candles. Fast forward a few years, the candle seller is the team principal and CEO of the Mercedes F1 team; the man we know and love as Toto Wolff.

Toto Wolff today

Toto Wolff has been the cornerstone of success for the Silver Arrows in Formula 1. Being in charge of the team that has dominated the sport’s turbo-hybrid for almost a decade is no easy feat.

With Wolff as team principal, the team has achieved a glorious seven consecutive world championship doubles- making Mercedes the most successful team in the sport’s history.

F1 isn’t the limit for the Austrian. Toto was also an active part of the Mercedes EQ Formula E team, which concluded its time as a team with double championships in its final season.

With so many achievements under his name, Wolff has one that he holds dear to his heart. The 2014 Austrian GP was a standout moment for Toto Wolff. As a shareholder in the Williams F1 team, the race was a highlight for Wolff. Mercedes finished 1-2, with Williams finishing 3-4. Further, the faces on the podium were Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas- all crucial players for Mercedes.

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It’s the only constructor’s trophy he keeps in his office. “It isn’t the nicest trophy – but it is a trophy that has so much value for me personally. Spielberg is where it all started for me in the early 90s with the Walter Lechner Racing School. The endless laps I did there, walking and instructing other people, really not having an idea of where my life would lead me.”

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As Toto Wolff continues to add many more achievements to his name, there is an eighth constructor’s trophy on the horizon for the Mercedes honcho.

Watch this story: Toto Wolff Swears, Valtteri Bottas Bares: Funniest Moments From Drive to Survive

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Written by:

Shreya Sanjeev

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Shreya Sanjeev is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. Having attained a journalism degree from St Xavier's College, she finds comfort in the sound of her keyboard while typing and excitement in the sound of F1 cars speeding on a track. A street circuit and Daniel Ricciardo fan through and through, Shreya claims the 2018 Monaco GP to be one of her favorite races of all time.
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