Mercedes Wolff Sells Stake – F1 Team Valued at $6bn
- Hear's a breakdown of the key information from the provided text, focusing on the sale of Mercedes F1 and related news:
- * New owner: Brad Kurtz, founder of cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike.
- * rising F1 Value: The sale reflects the significant increase in the value of Formula 1 teams, driven by growing popularity, especially in markets like the US.
Hear’s a breakdown of the key information from the provided text, focusing on the sale of Mercedes F1 and related news:
Mercedes F1 Team Sale:
* New owner: Brad Kurtz, founder of cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike.
* Valuation: £3.6 billion (approximately $4.68 billion) – making it one of the two most valuable F1 teams (alongside Ferrari).
* Increase in Value: The team’s value has increased more than sevenfold in the last five years.A one-third stake sold to Ineos in 2020 was valued at £208 million ($271.8 million).
* Wolff’s Role: Toto Wolff will remain as CEO and team principal and will receive $300 million from the sale. The team’s governance will not change.
* Kurtz’s Role: Kurtz will join the team’s ‘strategic steering commitee’ but not the main board. he brings a unique background as a racer and entrepreneur.
Key Points & Context:
* rising F1 Value: The sale reflects the significant increase in the value of Formula 1 teams, driven by growing popularity, especially in markets like the US.
* McLaren Comparison: The deal surpasses the valuation of McLaren, recently valued at £3.5 billion.
* Crowdstrike Partnership: Crowdstrike has been a commercial partner of Mercedes F1 as 2019.
* Kurtz’s Racing Background: Kurtz is also a racing driver, having won a class at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Other F1 News:
* T-Mobile Extension: F1 has extended its commercial relationship with T-Mobile, making them the exclusive 5G partner for the Las Vegas Grand Prix and a regional 5G innovation partner for F1 in the US (Austin Grand Prix).