American billionaire George Kurtz has snapped up 15 per cent of Toto Wolff’s personal stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 outfit. Kurtz, best known as the mastermind behind cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike, is now officially part of the Silver Arrows’ ownership roster — and he’s picking up a tech-advisor role to boot.
Despite the sale, Wolff is not going anywhere: he stays on as team principal and CEO, continuing his long-running stewardship of the team.
Kurtz, who founded CrowdStrike — a Mercedes partner since 2019 — has purchased 15 per cent of Wolff’s investment vehicle, which itself owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 squad. The other equal partners remain Mercedes-Benz and Ineos.
By joining the club of Mercedes shareholders, Kurtz also takes on the role of the team’s technology advisor — a natural fit given his cybersecurity pedigree.
“Formula 1 is really at an inflection point where it is a thriving business,” Kurtz said.
He continued: “If you’re making an investment like this, you believe that the sport is going to grow, F1 is going to grow and the team valuations are going to grow, and you’re going to be able to contribute to that growth.”
Kurtz will not join the main board of Mercedes F1, but he will sit on the squad’s strategic steering committee — the forum where Wolff, Mercedes Group chairman Ola Källenius, and Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe pore over high-level team matters.
Wolff was enthusiastic about the new partnership, saying: “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.”
Kurtz’s stake effectively gives him a five per cent slice of the overall team, with recent reporting valuing Mercedes F1 at a record £4.6bn.
Reflecting on soaring team valuations, Wolff told Sky Sports F1 during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, shortly after news of the sale emerged: “I think it shows a good development because the teams have become sustainable and profitable.
“It’s not just some valuation that has been taken out of the sky. 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,
“It has been the work of many years and the sport being in a good place.”
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