F1 Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff to Sell 5% Stake, Team Valuation Hits Record $6 Billion

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• F1 transaction dynamics continue: Alpine team's 24% stake to be sold by private equity fund
• McLaren racing division valuation may reach £3 billion! Middle Eastern major shareholder reportedly plans to acquire all minority stakes

Sky Sports News, Sportico and other media outlets cited sources saying that F1 Mercedes team CEO and team principal Toto Wolff is preparing to sell 5% of the team's shares.

Currently, Toto Wolff holds a total of 33% of the team's shares. This potential transaction also pushes the team's valuation to £4.6 billion (approximately $6 billion). In the future, he will continue to serve as Mercedes team CEO and team principal.

If the deal is reached, it will set a record for F1 team valuation, surpassing the $4.7 billion valuation of McLaren LP when its shares were sold last month.

The UK's Financial Times has confirmed that the potential buyer is American entrepreneur George Kurtz, who is the CEO and co-founder of US cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike became a Mercedes sponsor in 2019, and George Kurtz himself is an avid sports car racer.

The current equity structure of the Mercedes F1 team consists of three parties each holding 33%: German car manufacturer Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Toto Wolff himself, and UK chemical giant INEOS Group. British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is the chairman and controlling shareholder of INEOS, which completed its investment in the Mercedes team in January 2022 for £280 million.

A Mercedes F1 team spokesperson said via email: "We have no comment on this. The team's governance structure will remain unchanged, and the three major partners (Mercedes-Benz, Wolff, and INEOS Group) are fully committed to the continued success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

In 2024, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team generated revenue of $812 million, ranking first among all F1 teams. Toto received over $50 million in salary and dividends from his shareholding.

Toto Wolff joined the team in 2013 as an investor and team CEO when Mercedes officially returned to F1. Before that, he was an investor in the Williams F1 team, where his investment reportedly valued Williams at $165 million. Starting in 2014, Mercedes began an eight-year reign as F1 constructors' champion, during which Lewis Hamilton won the drivers' championship seven times.

Mercedes' dominance coincided with the expansion of F1's appeal. New budget cap rules reshaped the sport's business logic and investment prospects, greatly boosting capital market confidence and leading to rising team valuations.

｜Sources: Sky Sports News, Sportico, Motor Sport

｜Image credit: Team official website