- Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 CEO and team principal, Toto Wolff, is nearing the partial sale of his stake in the race outfit – placing it at a record total valuation of £4.6 billion (AU$9.3 billion).
- George Kurtz, co-founder and CEO of CrowdStrike (a key sponsor of Mercedes F1), is the buyer in question, looking to acquire 5%.
- For reference, chemical firm Ineos paid less than Kurtz to acquire 33% of Mercedes F1 back in 2022.
Mercedes F1 boss and the blueprint for every ambitious man, Toto Wolff, has entered “advanced talks” to sell a portion of his 33% shareholding in the top team.
The buyer is none other than George Kurtz of cybersecurity firm (and longstanding Silver Arrows sponsor) CrowdStrike, who is on track to claim approximately 5% of the whole enchilada, according to inside sources familiar with the matter.
Should the deal be finalised, Mercedes F1 will boast a record high valuation of £4.6 billion (AU$9.3 billion) – overtaking McLaren Racing’s recent figure of £3.5 billion (AU$7 billion) after its own wholesale acquisition by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Abu Dhabi investment group CYVN Holdings.
It’ll also represent quite an appreciation of value since Ineos paid £208 million (AU$420 million) – roughly the same amount Kurtz is coughing up – for its own 33% stake in Mercedes F1 circa January 2022. Eye-watering stuff, to say the least.
“We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula 1.”
Mercedes F1 spokesperson
Much like every financial dimension of the elite motorsport these days, Mercedes F1’s bumper price tag is symptomatic of the growing demand to buy in, particularly from US investors, post-Netflix’s Drive To Survive.
The ripple effects of the streaming giant’s hit docuseries have even gone so far as to rewrite the economics behind hosting a grand prix.
Once upon a time, staging a racing weekend posed an economic risk with no guarantee of a tangible (or beneficial) return: in its final year of operation, the 2013 Indian Grand Prix tallied losses of US$24 million (AU$37 million); while the 2012 Korean Grand Prix found itself US$37 million (AU$57 million) in the red an entire year prior to bowing out.
In 2023, the total economic impact of the Las Vegas Grand Prix was US$1.5 billion (AU$2.3 billion) compared to Super Bowl LVIII’s US$1 billion (AU$1.6 billion), making it the most significant sporting event in Sin City’s entire history. Small wonder that everyone from Cadillac to Apple Studios – and now Apple itself vis-à -vis US broadcasting rights – is so eager to get involved.
Even backmarker constructors like Aston Martin F1 seem to be benefiting from the renewed hype.
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In 2018, Aston Martin chairman and team owner Lawrence Stroll snapped up the entire operation – then known as the historically embattled Racing Point – for a relatively meagre US$117 million (AU$182 million). Fast-forward to this past July, and the sale of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc’s minority stake for £110 million (AU$226 million) placed the race outfit at an impressive valuation of £2.4 billion (AU$4.9 billion).
That’s over 28X on the initial investment.
One can begin to understand the revised stakes and heightened financial implications behind who comes out on top by the conclusion of each season. With the 2025 constructors’ championship already in the bag for McLaren Racing, it feels like there’s far more money than ever riding on whether it’s reigning points leader Lando Norris or Australia’s own Oscar Piastri to notch their maiden title.
