Toto Wolff has sold a portion of his 33.3% stake in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team to George Kurtz, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of CrowdStrike. The transaction, confirmed by Mercedes Tuesday, marks the first time Wolff has diluted his controlling interest since taking equity in the team in 2013. The sale price was not disclosed. Kurtz's net worth sits at approximately $7.8 billion as of December 2024.
Wolff now holds a 30% stake in the operation. Mercedes-Benz AG maintains its 33.3% interest, unchanged. INEOS, the chemicals conglomerate controlled by Jim Ratcliffe, retains its 33.3% stake acquired in 2020 for a reported £750 million. Kurtz's slice comes entirely from Wolff's position. The team's statement noted that Wolff remains team principal and CEO, with no operational changes planned. Kurtz will take a seat on the board but is not expected to assume day-to-day responsibilities.
The timing is notable. Mercedes finished fourth in the constructors' championship in 2024, its third consecutive season outside the top three after eight straight titles from 2014 through 2021. The team's cost cap compliance has been clean, but its technical deficit to Red Bull and McLaren has been persistent. Wolff, age 52, has publicly floated retirement scenarios before, most recently in mid-2023, though always with caveats about finding the right transition. Bringing in a new equity partner while remaining in the seat suggests a succession framework may be taking shape, even if Wolff stays through the end of the current Concorde Agreement in 2025.
Kurtz's entry adds to a growing pattern of tech wealth entering F1 ownership. His presence on the board gives Mercedes access to a network that includes executive relationships across enterprise software, cloud security, and Washington lobbying. CrowdStrike's client list spans most Fortune 500 companies. That matters less for sponsorship activation—Mercedes already has deep technology partnerships—and more for scenario planning around data security, IP protection, and the team's expanding simulator and telemetry infrastructure. The computational load of F1 wind tunnel alternatives and CFD modeling is growing. A board member who understands zero-trust architecture and insider threat monitoring is not ornamental.
The financial mechanics are also clean. Wolff does not need liquidity. His stake in the team, plus his Mercedes-Benz board seat and executive compensation, puts his net worth north of $500 million by most estimates. What he likely needs is estate planning architecture and a path to unlock value without triggering a control auction. Selling 10% of the team to a single counterparty keeps the cap table stable. If Wolff later decides to step back, Kurtz could either buy more or help facilitate a structured sale to another institutional buyer. INEOS, which already has ownership stakes in cycling, sailing, and football, has publicly stated it views F1 as a long-term asset. Mercedes-Benz has committed through 2030. The buyer pool for fractional stakes in top-tier F1 teams is narrow but active.
Wolff's reduced stake does shift the power geometry slightly. He no longer holds the largest individual block if Kurtz and INEOS were to align on a governance question. That dynamic has not mattered historically—Mercedes-Benz AG has been the de facto tie-breaker—but it could matter in future disputes over budgets, driver contracts, or technical partnership structures. Worth noting: Wolff's marriage to Susie Wolff, the managing director of the F1 Academy, adds a layer of complexity to any governance conversation touching driver development or junior series integration. The FIA cleared both Wolffs of conflict-of-interest allegations in 2023, but the scrutiny was real.
What to watch: Mercedes has two open engineering roles—head of aerodynamics and technical director—that have been unfilled since mid-2024. Those hires will signal whether the team is leaning into a rebuild or managing a plateau. Kurtz's first board meeting will likely occur before the 2025 season opener in Australia on March 16. Pay attention to whether CrowdStrike logos appear anywhere in the Mercedes digital ecosystem or team hospitality by mid-season. Also watch whether Wolff's public commentary shifts toward longer timelines or starts naming potential internal successors. The operational rhetoric has been "I'm staying," but the financial structure now says "I'm building an exit."
The last time a team principal sold down while staying in the role was when Christian Horner's private equity backers restructured Red Bull Racing's holding company in 2019. Horner is still there. The difference: Horner never held equity. Wolff does, and now he holds less.
The takeaway
Wolff's stake sale to Kurtz builds succession infrastructure while keeping Mercedes governance stable through 2025 Concorde negotiations.
mercedesownershiptoto wolffgeorge kurtzequity
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