Toto Wolff has sold a portion of his Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team stake to George Kurtz, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of CrowdStrike Holdings, the Austin-based cybersecurity firm with a $90 billion market capitalization. The transaction, disclosed Tuesday, represents the first external equity injection into Mercedes' F1 operations since Ineos purchased 33% from Daimler in 2020. Terms were not disclosed. Kurtz, who took CrowdStrike public in 2019 at a $6.7 billion valuation, now holds direct ownership alongside Wolff, Ineos, and Daimler AG, which retains the controlling stake.
Wolff's sale comes eighteen months after Mercedes extended his contract through 2026 as team principal and CEO, a deal that included equity participation in Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd, the British-domiciled entity that operates the F1 team. Wolff currently holds stakes in three separate Mercedes structures: the F1 team, Mercedes-EQ Formula E (which he co-owns with Daimler), and a reported 5% indirect position in the Mercedes-Benz Group through private transactions executed between 2020 and 2022. The Kurtz transaction appears to involve only the F1 entity. Mercedes declined to specify the percentage sold or whether Wolff's CEO role changed.
Kurtz enters F1 ownership with a reputation for technical precision and operational scaling. CrowdStrike went from startup to Fortune 500 in under a decade, posting $3 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024. He competed in amateur racing through the 2000s, running Porsche 911s in club events across California and Texas, but has not been publicly linked to motorsport sponsorship at the professional level. His arrival follows a pattern: Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe purchased his stake after decades in sailing and cycling; Lawrence Stroll bought into Aston Martin after collecting Ferraris. The profile is billionaire operator, not passive allocator.
The timing coincides with Mercedes' budget review ahead of the 2026 power unit regulations, which require $300 million in fresh R&D spend to develop the new hybrid architecture. Mercedes HPP, the Brixworth engine facility, is already funded through Daimler's Stuttgart budget, but the Brackley chassis operation depends on commercial revenue and prize money. Mercedes finished second in the 2024 constructors' championship, earning approximately $140 million in FOM distributions, down from $180 million in 2021. Wolff has spoken publicly about the need to maintain title-contending budgets without relying on OEM subsidies as Daimler shifts capital toward electric-vehicle platforms. A minority equity sale at this juncture suggests either portfolio rebalancing or a push to recapitalize the team before the next regulatory cycle.
Cybersecurity and Formula 1 share structural overlap in threat modeling, real-time data infrastructure, and adversarial testing. CrowdStrike's Falcon platform processes 2 trillion security events per week; Mercedes F1 generates 3 terabytes of telemetry data per race weekend. Kurtz's firm has existing sports relationships through partnerships with the PGA Tour and the NFL, where CrowdStrike provides endpoint protection for league IT systems. Whether this stake comes with commercial rights—jersey placement, paddock hospitality, co-marketing around the Las Vegas Grand Prix—remains unclear. Mercedes currently carries 14 major sponsors, including Petronas, IWC, and Tommy Hilfiger, generating an estimated $350 million in annual sponsorship revenue.
Wolff's liquidity event also reflects broader trends in F1 franchise valuation. McLaren raised $550 million from MSP Sports Capital and Ares Management in 2020-2021 at a reported $900 million enterprise value. Aston Martin, post-Stroll investment, was valued at roughly $1.2 billion in 2022 when Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund considered a minority stake. Alpine's restructuring under Renault CEO Luca de Meo included external fundraising talks that collapsed in 2023. Mercedes, as a three-time recent champion with OEM backing, likely commands a $1.5–2 billion valuation, meaning Kurtz's entry could represent a $100–200 million check for a low-double-digit percentage.
Watch for Kurtz's attendance at the Miami Grand Prix in May, which draws U.S. tech and finance LPs, and any CrowdStrike branding on Mercedes assets by mid-season. Wolff's next quarterly earnings call with Daimler analysts, expected in late April, may disclose whether this sale triggers any related-party transaction filings. If Kurtz brings additional co-investors—CrowdStrike board members, Austin-based family offices—the structure could resemble the Arctos Sports Partners model, where a single transaction opens the door to syndicated participation. The F1 team's next set of accounts, filed with Companies House in London by September, will show the updated shareholder registry.
The takeaway
Wolff monetizes part of his Mercedes F1 stake to CrowdStrike's Kurtz, signaling either portfolio rebalancing or pre-2026 recapitalization as team valuations approach **$2 billion**.
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