Mercedes have confirmed American billionaire George Kurtz as their new co-owner. The founder and chief executive of cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, a Mercedes F1 sponsor, has taken a minority stake in team principal Toto Wolff’s share of the team.
Wolff’s ownership group still owns one-third of the team and he will continue as both team principal and CEO. A Mercedes spokesperson confirmed the team’s governance will remain unchanged, though Kurtz will join Wolff, Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Kallenius and INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe on the team’s strategic steering committee.
Wolff said: “George’s background is unusual in its breadth: he’s a racer, a loyal sporting ambassador for Mercedes-AMG, and an exceptional entrepreneur. He understands both the demands of racing and the realities of building and scaling technology businesses. That combination brings specific insight that is increasingly relevant to the future of Formula 1.”
Kurtz has taken a 15 percent stake in Wolff’s portion of the overall Mercedes F1 ownership. It comes after the Austrian was reported to be set to receive a nine-figure fee for the sold stake, which would value the team overall at around £4.5billion.
Kurtz is not only a successful businessman but also a racer himself who began to compete in motorsport in 2016. His most prestigious win to date was victory at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 Pro-Am class, while he also boasts class victories in endurance races at the Sebring, Watkins Glen and Indianapolis circuits.
As well as becoming co-owner at Mercedes, he will also take up a technology advisory role.
The American said: “Winning in racing and cybersecurity requires speed, precision, and innovation. Milliseconds matter. Execution counts. Data wins. Technology is reshaping competitive advantage and human capability everywhere, including motorsport. I’m excited to help the team securely accelerate forward.”
The Mercedes ownership continues to be split three ways between the main ownership groups. Wolff, now with Kurtz on board as a partner, owners 33.3 percent, as do Ratcliffe and the Germany-based Mercedes-Benz Group.
