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Toto Wolff is preparing to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team, likely to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz. The deal values the outfit at around 6 billion dollars, over 5 billion euros. That is the sort of number usually associated with NFL franchises or top European football clubs, not with an F1 team still deep in a competitive rebuild. The potential transaction is therefore more than a personal financial decision by Wolff. It is a benchmark for what Formula 1 teams are truly worth today — and how that valuation will shape the sport’s future.
What the Deal Means for Mercedes and Wolff
Mercedes F1 has a three-way ownership structure. Shares are divided between Mercedes-Benz, chemicals giant INEOS and Toto Wolff. For years, Wolff has not only been team principal but also a co-owner, with a stake that anchored him both financially and organisationally within the project. By cashing in part of that stake now, he unlocks value built across a decade of sporting and commercial success while, according to early reporting, remaining in place as both team boss and shareholder.
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At a valuation of 6 billion dollars, even a small percentage represents a huge number. For Wolff personally, the sale is an opportunity to diversify. Much of his wealth has been tied up in one asset: the team. Selling a slice allows him to realise gains without stepping away from his role.
For Mercedes, it signals that external investors view the team as a mature business with solid long-term potential. CrowdStrike, as the likely new shareholder, also brings a technological partnership that already exists through sponsorship. The shift from sponsor to co-owner underlines just how closely those worlds have become intertwined.
What 6 Billion Dollars Says About F1 Team Value
A multi-billion valuation for an F1 team would have been unimaginable twenty years ago. Teams were often bought and sold for a fraction of that, sometimes under financial pressure. In recent years the picture has changed dramatically. Under Liberty Media, the sport has grown globally, the cost cap has stabilised finances and the revenue structure — particularly the distribution of broadcasting income — has become more predictable.
Top teams like Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari benefit most from this new ecosystem. Their brand value, sponsorship strength and sporting reputation deliver consistently high revenue. That a team like Mercedes is now valued in the same range as major American sports franchises says a great deal about how investors see F1: not as an expensive hobby for manufacturers, but as a fully mature business platform with global reach, especially in the United States.
By contrast, smaller teams have changed hands in recent years for hundreds of millions rather than billions. Williams and Sauber are examples of teams sold for comparatively lower sums because they lacked the championship pedigree and commercial weight of a Mercedes. The divide between the front and the back of the grid is therefore widening not only in performance but in enterprise value.
The Sporting Future of Mercedes
The bigger question is what this shift means for Mercedes as a competitive project. As long as the ownership structure remains balanced and Wolff continues as team principal and shareholder, the immediate impact on drivers and staff will be minimal. George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli care far more about the car’s pace than its cap table.
But every new investor brings new expectations. A company like CrowdStrike will not only evaluate sporting progress but also branding opportunities, technological collaboration and commercial returns. That can influence decisions on digitalisation, marketing and the team’s sponsorship profile.
For Wolff, the long-term question is how long he wants to wear both hats. The job of team principal is all-consuming. The role of investor demands a broader, more strategic focus. Over time, it is plausible he may shift towards the strategic side while allowing others to take more responsibility for daily sporting operations, particularly if new shareholders want to shape future direction.
What It Means for the Rest of the Grid
If Mercedes is worth six billion dollars, the implications ripple across the entire sport. New entrants such as Audi and Cadillac see that the financial bar is extremely high. Joining Formula 1 requires not only sporting ambition but an enormous economic commitment. Meanwhile, an F1 entry itself is becoming a scarce and valuable asset. Even a backmarker team holds a rare grid slot. Scarcity alone drives up value as global demand grows.
For smaller teams, the rising valuations turn their licences into potential gold mines. A future sale could generate billions, provided the sporting and commercial narrative is strong. The downside is that the barrier to entry for new independent teams becomes nearly insurmountable.
Wolff’s partial sale therefore reflects a broader trend. Formula 1 teams are no longer expensive toys or marketing experiments. They have become strategic assets in a global entertainment economy. What began as a race team in Brackley is now being discussed in the same breath as major sporting franchises. The question is no longer whether F1 can reach that level, but which teams will be able to maintain it.
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