CrowdStrike CEO and endurance racer George Kurtz becomes co-owner of Mercedes after acquiring stake from Toto Wolff

Businessman and endurance racer George Kurtz has become a co-owner of the Mercedes Formula 1 Team after securing a 15% minority acquisition in the ownership entity controlled by the squad's CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff.

Kurtz is CEO and Founder of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, who have been a partner of Mercedes since 2019, and as part of the deal he joins the eight-time World Champions' strategic steering committee as Technology Advisor.

The company which controls Wolff's ownership stake in Mercedes' F1 operation owns one-third of the team, with Mercedes-Benz and chemical conglomerate INEOS holding the remaining thirds.

The governance of the team will remain unchanged – with Wolff continuing in his existing executive roles as co-owner, CEO and Team Principal.

In a joint statement released by Mercedes and Kurtz, it was announced Kurtz will "support the team's innovation and technology strategy with a focus on the intersection of competitive motorsport, data analytics and Performance".

Kurtz, who has secured class wins in the 24 hours of Le Mans, 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.”

Wolff added: "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.”

Mercedes are currently second behind champions McLaren in the Teams' Championship with three Grand Prix weekends – starting with this weekend's race in Las Vegas – to go.