Wolff has penned a fresh three-year deal to remain as team principal ofꦍ Mercedes, confirmed.

He also remains the owner of 33% of the🤡 F1🌠 team so there is an additional reason for him clarifying his future, Slater insists.

The reporter agreed that Wolff made puꦿblic hi♒s new deal to “stave off all the rumours that were going around that he was leaving”.

Slater added: “Toto has said repeatedly in public that ‘I am in💙 it for life as the co-owner of the team’.

“H🐟e has a one-third share in the Mercedes Formu♊la 1 team. People know his co-owner is Sir Jim Ratcliffe who now has a big stake in Manchester United.

“So, despite that, therওe had been sꦕome discussion about whether he planned to leave his day-to-day role as team principal.

“He☂ has talked on occasion of maybe wanting to cut down on the amount of races that he attends.

“He’s a billionaire, he has got a young family as well. He has won eight constructors’ championships ꩵwith Mercedes. As he put it, he was always likely to be bor🧔ed out of the job having achieved everything that he set out to achieve, rather than being burned out or potentially ousted.

“Some people were suggesting that maybe h🌼e didn’t♔ get on with Daimler, the one-third ownership. Maybe there was some friction there? I understand that is completely without foundation.

“He and Jim Ratcliffe are close, in terms of their business dealings. They have a good p𝕴ersonal relationship. Given they own two-thirds of the teཧam, that cements Toto’s position.

“The reason he has come out? It’s n꧂ot a surprise that he has signed this deal. What is significant is that he has made it public, he has committed as team principal for the next three years, to sh🐽ut down any chatter about him maybe being a part-time player or potentially leaving.

“That gives the whole team extra confidence.”

Mercedes have endured two awful 🃏seasons since Lewis Hamilton was denied an all-time record eighth F1 championship at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have dominate𒈔d ever꧃ since.

Wolff’s team will unveil their W15 c꧂hallenger on February 14, hoping to finally return to the championship fight against Red Bull this season.