Mercedes have confirmed Toto Wolff has a new right-hand man.

Toto Wolff has a new official deputy at Mercedes (Image: Getty)

Mercedes have confirmed that Bradley Lord has been officially appointed as deputy team principal of the Formula 1 squad. Lord had previously served as chief communications officer for the outfit, though he had taken on additional responsibilities over the last couple of years including serving as unofficial team representative at a handful of races when chief Toto Wolff was absent.Ư

Mercedes see Lord’s appointment as deputy team principal as a formalisation of those extra responsibilities. He has been with the team full-time since 2013, having joined from the Mercedes car brand which used to operate under the Daimler name. Previously, Lord enjoyed separate stints with the Enstone F1 team, first as a press officer at Benetton starting in 2001 and remaining with the outfit when it was bought by Renault.

Having taken on responsibilities away from just the communications department, Lord now finds himself as one of the most powerful people inside the Mercedes squad. He now reports directly to team principal and chief executive Wolff, who said: “With the growth of our team and F1, the scope of our operations and associated responsibilities at a senior level has grown significantly.

We have therefore taken this opportunity to put in place a change that has effectively been operating in practice for some time. While my role and overall responsibilities will not change one millimetre, Bradley’s work as deputy team principal will further enhance the capability of our leadership group and provide continued support for me as our team principal and CEO.

“Bradley is a dedicated and long-serving member of our organisation who has played an important part in the team becoming the most successful of the modern era. Aligning our structure in this way ensures our leadership group can focus fully on the areas where they can add the greatest value and is optimised to meet the demands of a rapidly growing sport.”

Lord is the first person to serve as deputy team principal at Mercedes since Jerome D’Ambrosio. The Belgian former F1 racer joined Mercedes in 2023 as driver development director and was also Wolff’s number two for a brief stint, before both he and performance director Loic Serra were poached by Ferrari.

Bradley Lord is now the official deputy team principal at Mercedes (Image: Getty)

Wolff had publicly confirmed that D’Ambrosio was the man who would take over responsibilities on the ground at any races that he did not attend in person. Following the Belgian’s departure, Lord became the person who acted as team representative on the handful of occasions that Wolff was absent from a race over the past couple of years.

In charge of Mercedes’ communications department these days is Adam McDaid, who serves as head of media relations and editorial.