formula 1Toto Wolff sells shares – new investor in Mercedes
Toto Wolff has sold some of his shares in the Mercedes racing team. (archive photo)
Ettore Chiereguini/AP/dpa
Toto Wolff not only serves as sports director at Mercedes, he also has shares in the racing team. He has now sold some of it – and officially made the team one of the most valuable.
Mercedes sports director Toto Wolff has sold 15 percent of his investment company and thus sold part of the Formula 1 racing team. George Kurtz, founder and managing director of CrowdStrike, which is already committed to sponsoring the team, will in future hold five percent of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, as the racing team announced two days before the race in Las Vegas. According to information from BBC England, the deal values the racing team at a record $6 billion, meaning Wolff will earn $300 million from the sale.
According to business magazine Forbes, only Ferrari is worth more, with the Italian team estimated to be worth $6.5 billion. Restructuring ownership of McLaren, which has already secured this season’s constructors’ championship with three races remaining and has the two leading drivers in the drivers’ championship under contract in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, valued the British racing team at $3.5 billion in September.
In future, Kurtz will have a position as technical advisor on the race team’s strategy committee, which includes Wolff, Mercedes boss Ola Kallenius and Ineos boss Simon Ratcliffe. “When you make an investment like this, you are sure that this sport will grow, Formula 1 will grow and the value of racing teams will increase, and you can contribute to this growth,” said the entrepreneur who is also active as a long-distance racer, as quoted by the BBC.
