Wolff insists on long-term Mercedes stability after sale of shares

13:30, 21 Nov

Updated: 13:40, 21 Nov

byBen Winship

Toto Wolff has sold part of his one-third share in Mercedes F1 team to American tech billionaire George Kurtz in a deal worth $300m (£230m). But the Mercedes F1 boss has been quick to point out that the long-term stability of the team remains unchanged.

The deal sees Crowdstrike founder and CEO Kurtz acquire 15% of Wolff’s share in the team, which equates to around 5% of the overall ownership of the team.

Kurtz will also join the team as technology adviser and will join its strategic steering committee alongside Wolff and the other one-third shareholders Ola Kallenius, chairman of the management board of the Mercedes Group, and Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The governance of Mercedes F1 remains unchanged, with Wolff continuing on as both team principal and CEO.

The right man for Wolff

Kurtz has been working with Mercedes F1 since Crowdstrike became a global partner in 2019 and he purchased the minority shares out of his own personal funds, not the cybersecurity company’s wallet.

Speaking to CNBC, Wolff underlined how Mercedes intended to sell shares to someone they trusted to have a long-term interest in the team’s future.

He said: "When I started this adventure with Mercedes, we are in there for the long term.

"I was in partnership with Mercedes for 20 years in touring cars and smaller formulas. [I was] a shareholder of the Formula E team. So this is the kind of journey that we had. And we are not sellers.

Kurtz's net worth is estimated at around $9bn - Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

"But with George, we kind of grew together. We met each other long before his IPO, we've been part of the journey of growth. George is very unique in the sense that he's not only a successful tech entrepreneur, one of the most successful tech entrepreneurs."

Wolff and Kurtz also share a background in racing. The American has competed in a range of sportscar competitions and in 2023 won a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Austrian added: "That is a skill or a niche or combination of understanding that is important for us. So bringing him aboard is great."

Commercial opportunity in America

The sale of Wolff’s shares valued Mercedes F1 team at $6bn (£4.6bn), representing a seven-fold increase in the team’s value since Ineos became a one-third shareholder for $271m (£208m) in 2020.

Kurtz underscored the commercial opportunity that ownership in Mercedes presents.

Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe owns one-third of the team - Photo: RacePictures

"In my opinion, there's a lot of upside in Formula 1. There is upside in Mercedes, or I wouldn't be involved," Kurtz told CNBC.

“Think about all the new fans coming in,” he added. “You have a different demographic, a female demographic that is involve and when you come to an event you see what it means.

“The reason why CrowdStrike is involved in Formula One is there is a return.

“We’ve perfected that, and we want to bring that to the United States, to the tech market, and have other partnerships that can exploit that and make the best of Formula One.”

Retaining 85% of his one-third share in the team, Wolff insists his long-term commitment to Mercedes F1 remains unchanged after the partial sale of his shares.

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