Toto Wolff explains Mercedes F1 £4.5bn valuation after selling stake | F1 | Sport

Toto Wolff toasted the health of Formula 1 and Mercedes after earning a huge payday by selling a minor stake in the team. It was confirmed in Las Vegas this week that American billionaire George Kurtz has bought a five percent share stake in the team from Wolff. The Austrian previously shared equal equity with British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the main Mercedes-Benz group.

Wolff has made around £230million from the sale, which values the team at £4.6billion overall – by far a high for the sport. «It’s not just some valuation that has been taken out of the sky,» he said. «When you look at our revenues and our cash flows, we are among the five, maybe three most profitable sports teams in the world, and this is where the valuations come from.

«I think it shows a good development because the teams have become sustainable and profitable. It has been the work of many years and the sport being in a good place.»

New co-owner Kurtz is founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which was already a major sponsor of the team. He is also an accomplished racer, having won the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours in the LMP2 Pro-Am category.

The American businessman said: «Winning in racing and cybersecurity requires speed, precision, and innovation. Milliseconds matter. Execution counts. Data wins. Technology is reshaping competitive advantage and human capability everywhere, including motorsport. I’m excited to help the team securely accelerate forward.»

And Wolff added: «George’s background is unusual in its breadth: he’s a racer, a loyal sporting ambassador for Mercedes-AMG, and an exceptional entrepreneur. He understands both the demands of racing and the realities of building and scaling technology businesses. That combination brings specific insight that is increasingly relevant to the future of Formula 1.»

As well as becoming co-owner at Mercedes, Kurtz will also take up a technology advisory role. The Mercedes ownership continues to be split three ways between the main ownership groups. Wolff, now with Kurtz on board as a partner, owners 33.3 percent, as do Ratcliffe and the Germany-based Mercedes-Benz Group.

A Mercedes spokesperson confirmed the team’s governance will remain unchanged and that Wolff will continue as both team principal and chief executive, though Kurtz will join Wolff, Ratcliffe and Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Kallenius on the team’s strategic steering committee.