Wolff was born to a Polish mother who was a physician, and a Romanian father. He grew up in Vienna and was educated at the Lycée Français de Vienne. His father was diagnosed with brain cancer when Wolff was eight years old and died from the disease when Wolff was fifteen. Wolff has spoken about how his father's illness shaped his outlook on life and leadership.
Wolff began his motorsport career in 1992 in the Austrian Formula Ford Championship, competing in Austrian and German Formula Ford from 1992 to 1994. In 1994 he won his category at the 24 Hours Nürburgring. In 2002 he finished sixth in the N-GT category in the FIA GT Championship and won one race. He switched to the Italian GT Championship in 2003, winning a race in 2004 alongside Lorenzo Case, while also partnering Karl Wendlinger in the FIA GT Championship. Wolff was runner-up in the Austrian Rally Championship in 2006 and won the 2006 Dubai 24 Hour. He served as an instructor at the Walter Lechner Racing School and in 2009 became a lap-record holder on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a Porsche RSR.
Wolff founded investment company Marchfifteen in 1998 and Marchsixteen Investments in 2004, initially focusing on internet and technology companies. From 2003 he concentrated on strategic investments in medium-sized industrial and listed companies. He acquired a 49% stake in German HWA AG in 2006, listing the company on the stock exchange in 2007; the company ran the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters programme for Mercedes-Benz and developed the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Other investments included BRR Rallye Racing, one of the largest rally parts dealers in Europe. He co-owns a sports management company with former Formula One driver Mika Häkkinen, through which he has managed drivers including Bruno Spengler, Alexandre Prémat and Valtteri Bottas. In April 2020 Wolff acquired a 4.95% stake in Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc, subsequently diluted to less than 1%. In June 2020 he held a 5% stake in Williams F1, which was sold when Dorilton Capital purchased Williams. In August 2021 allegations of insider trading in Aston Martin shares were refuted; the BaFin in Germany and the FCA in the UK confirmed they found no evidence of wrongdoing.
In 2009 Wolff bought a share of the Williams Formula One Team and joined its board of directors. In 2012 he was named executive director of Williams F1, and the team took its last race win to that date at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix with Pastor Maldonado. In 2014 Wolff sold two-thirds of his Williams shares to American businessman Brad Hollinger. On 9 March 2016 he sold his remaining Williams shares.
In January 2013 Wolff left Williams to become an executive director of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, acquiring 30% of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd; Niki Lauda held a further 10% and the parent company 60%. Wolff took over coordination of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities, a responsibility previously held by Norbert Haug.
Under Wolff, Mercedes won eight consecutive World Constructors' Championships from 2014 to 2021, and seven consecutive drivers' championships from 2014 to 2020. The previous record of consecutive constructors' championships was six, held by Ferrari between 1999 and 2004. Since the introduction of the turbo-hybrid regulations in 2014, Mercedes won 121 of 255 races under Wolff's leadership, taking 129 pole positions and 283 of 510 possible podium finishes, a 45% winning percentage.
In 2018 Wolff received the John Bolster Award from Jean Todt at the Autosport Awards, and subsequently the President's Award from Todt alongside Niki Lauda at the 2018 FIA Prize Giving Gala in St Petersburg. 2018 was described as the most successful motorsport year in Mercedes-Benz history: the company won both Formula One titles, the Formula 2 title with George Russell, the Formula 3 European Championship with Mick Schumacher, all three titles in its final DTM season with Gary Paffett securing the drivers' title, both F1 Esports titles with Brendon Leigh, and numerous customer racing championships.
In 2020 Lewis Hamilton became the most successful driver in terms of race wins at the Portuguese Grand Prix and secured his seventh drivers' world championship at the Turkish Grand Prix, tying the record held by Michael Schumacher. At the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Max Verstappen edged out Hamilton for the drivers' title in controversial circumstances, narrowly denying Mercedes an eighth consecutive drivers' championship.
After the 2020 season Wolff signed a new deal with Mercedes, increasing his ownership stake to 33% following investment from Ineos, making him an equal shareholder with Daimler AG. After the 2023 season he signed a further three-year deal to continue as team principal and CEO.
Wolff served as Director and CEO of the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team. In August 2021 in Berlin, Mercedes won both the drivers' and teams' championships in Formula E at a race won by Venturi driver Norman Nato. His wife Susie Wolff, as managing director of Venturi, became the first female team principal to stand on the podium at a world championship motor race on that occasion. Mercedes' Formula E assets were subsequently purchased by McLaren following the conclusion of the 2021–2022 season.
Wolff was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield University in May 2021 for his services to motorsport. In November 2021 he was appointed to an Associate Fellowship of Oxford's Saïd Business School. In February 2022 his leadership of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team was the subject of a Harvard Business School case study authored by Professor Anita Elberse. In May 2022 Wolff was named an executive fellow at Harvard Business School.
Wolff is married to Susie Wolff (née Stoddart), a Scottish former racing driver and current managing director of F1 Academy. They married in October 2011 and live in Monaco. Their son was born on 10 April 2017. Wolff has two further children — a son, Benedict, and a daughter, Rosa — from a previous marriage. He is fluent in German, English, French, Italian and Polish. Wolff has spoken publicly about his mental health struggles during his Formula One career and receiving professional help from a psychologist. His net worth was estimated at US$1.6 billion as of 2023.
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