Toto Wolff is reportedly in advanced discussions to sell a small part of his 33 per cent shareholding in the Mercedes F1 team to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz.
Prominent business publication Sportico first announced that the deal values Mercedes at $6 billion, a new record for an F1 team. Upon completion of the agreement, this valuation would eclipse the latest record price of $4.1 billion established in a McLaren stake sale in September.
The deal is for a mid-single-digit stake in the Brackley-based outfit through an investment in Wolff’s holding company.
Although Sportico couldn’t identify the buyer, Financial Times believes that Wolff is interested in selling a stake of about 5 per cent to George Kurtz, who co-founded and is the CEO of CrowdStrike.
Despite his thriving career in cybersecurity, Kurtz is no stranger to the world of motorsport. He has competed in five seasons of the IMSA-backed WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 55-year-old has also participated in four 24 Hours of Daytona races, coming second in 2023 and ’24, and three Le Mans 24 Hours, winning the LMP2 Pro-Am class in 2023.
CrowdStrike and Mercedes F1 have a long-standing commercial relationship. Since becoming a global partner back in 2019, the American cybersecurity firm’s logo has prominently featured on the team’s cars and driver race suits.
Would this sale impact Mercedes F1’s management structure?
In 2013, Toto Wolff left his role as an executive director of Williams F1 and took a 30% ownership stake in the Brackley-based team at an approximate $165 million valuation.
The 53-year-old owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 team to date, with his co-owners being German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz itself and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemicals company INEOS.
Wolff would stay on as CEO and team principal of the F1 team amidst the sale. It is also believed that the Austrian’s voting power at board level would remain unchanged.
In a statement, a Mercedes spokesperson said: “We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners [Mercedes-Benz, Toto, and INEOS] are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula 1.”
Staggering increase in Mercedes F1’s valuation
Mercedes saw substantial financial windfalls throughout the 2024 F1 season, despite falling to fourth in the Constructors’ standings.
In company filings for the 2024 financial year, the Brackley-based outfit boasted the highest revenues of any team on the F1 grid. They enjoyed a 16 per cent increase in income from 2023, rising to $858 million. Furthermore, the net financial result was a strong $158 million profit for the year.
The ongoing negotiations would represent a considerable increase in the value of Mercedes F1 since INEOS bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The sport’s explosion in popularity globally since Liberty Media’s acquisition of F1 in 2017 has seen team valuations skyrocket. The Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive has been a global sensation, catapulting Toto Wolff and other F1 team bosses into the spotlight.
A new generation of fans has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which graced the screens last summer and has grossed more than $630 million at the box office. Wolff was among the executive producers, with the Mercedes F1 team providing significant assistance to the production.
The Austrian has led the Silver Arrows to a record eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and ’21, as well as seven Drivers’ Championships with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Mercedes currently find themselves second in the teams’ standings with three more rounds to go. Meanwhile, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli sit fourth and seventh in the Drivers’ standings, respectively.
