Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team principal Toto Wolff has sold a portion of his ownership stake to George Kurtz, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The transaction marks the first external capital event at Mercedes F1 since Wolff, INEOS chairman Jim Ratcliffe, and Daimler AG restructured the team's ownership in 2022, when each party held roughly one-third stakes.
The exact percentage sold and transaction value remain undisclosed. Wolff's previous stake was understood to be 33%, acquired progressively since he joined as executive director in 2013. Kurtz, worth an estimated $8.4 billion per Forbes real-time data, takes the stake personally rather than through CrowdStrike corporate structure. The deal was negotiated privately; no investment bank was mandated. Kurtz has no prior motorsport ownership history, though CrowdStrike has maintained enterprise cybersecurity contracts with multiple F1 teams since 2021.
The timing matters for three reasons. First, F1's 2026 power unit regulations require manufacturers to finalize homologation submissions by mid-2025, triggering capital commitments in the $200-300 million range for teams building new engines in-house. Mercedes HPP in Brixworth is mid-development on its 2026 unit. Second, the team's on-track performance has deteriorated since 2022, ending a streak of eight consecutive constructors' championships. Sponsorship renewal conversations with IWC, Puma, and Petronas all occur within the next 18 months, with pricing tied to competitive results. Third, Wolff turns 53 in January and has publicly discussed succession planning, though he remains contracted as team principal through 2026. Bringing in outside capital now—rather than at a distressed valuation after another winless season—locks in enterprise value while the Mercedes brand still commands premium multiples.
Kurtz's entry is narrowly rational. CrowdStrike's stock trades at 68x forward earnings, making personal liquidity events tax-efficient for founder-CEOs. F1 team valuations have climbed 400% since 2018, per Sportico's latest franchise tracker, driven by cost-cap stability and the Las Vegas GP's $1.5 billion economic impact in year one. Unlike traditional sports franchises, F1 teams distribute prize money from a central commercial pot—$1.157 billion in 2023—creating a revenue floor independent of local market dynamics. Kurtz's cybersecurity background also aligns with F1's increasing vulnerability to data breaches; the FIA suffered a ransomware attack in November, and team IP theft remains a persistent risk as simulators and CFD models hold competitive advantage worth tens of millions per season.
What to watch: Mercedes will likely announce a CrowdStrike technical partnership within 90 days, converting Kurtz's equity into board influence and commercial exposure. Wolff's remaining stake percentage will clarify his long-term commitment; if he sold more than 10 points, expect a new non-executive chairman appointment before the 2026 season. INEOS and Daimler have right-of-first-refusal clauses in the 2022 shareholder agreement, so their waiver confirms Kurtz passed internal vetting. Ratcliffe's Manchester United obligations and Daimler's pending spinoff of its commercial vehicle division both create plausible exit scenarios within 24 months, meaning Kurtz may have optionality on a larger position.
The phone call Wolff didn't take: Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, who has quietly explored buying non-controlling stakes in 3-4 teams to smooth governance conflicts as F1 considers its post-2030 Concorde Agreement structure.