George Kurtz has become co-owner of Mercedes F1 team through the acquisition of a slice of Toto Wolff's shareholding.

Through his personal acquisition of a 15% minority interest in the ownership entity controlled by Wolff, who holds one third of the team in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and INEOS, George Kurtz, who has been appointed Technology Advisor, joins Mercedes-Benz, INEOS, and Wolff in the team's long-term ownership group.

The deal, thought to be worth £230m ($300m), values the team at £4.6bn ($6bn).

Kurtz also joins the team's strategic steering committee alongside Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG Ola Källenius, INEOS Group Founder and Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and Wolff. The governance of the team remains unchanged, and Wolff continues in all existing executive roles.

Kurtz is an accomplished endurance racer and globally respected business leader who has built the most successful AI cybersecurity company of the modern era. As an entrepreneur, technologist, and S&P 500 CEO, he's established and scaled world-class innovation and teams. His combination of experience uniquely spans cybersecurity, large-scale technology operations, and professional motorsport.

In his advisory capacity, Kurtz will support the team's innovation and technology strategy, with a focus on the intersection of competitive motorsport, data analytics, and performance. He will also work to grow the team's ecosystem across the U.S. and global technology sectors, and to secure competitive advantage and investment from new tech partners.

"Winning in racing and cybersecurity requires speed, precision, and innovation. Milliseconds matter. Execution counts. Data wins," said Kurtz. "Technology is reshaping competitive advantage and human capability everywhere, including motorsport. I'm excited to help the team securely accelerate forward."

Kurtz's ownership builds on years of strategic partnership since CrowdStrike became a Global Partner with the Mercedes team in 2019. This strategic partnership continues, with CrowdStrike providing AI-powered cybersecurity solutions that protect the team's technology infrastructure.

Welcoming George Kurtz to the team, Wolff commented: "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 One."

Kurtz began his professional racing career in 2016, and since then, has secured class wins in the following endurance races: 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 Pro-Am, 2021 Twelve Hours of Sebring, 2023 Petit Le Mans, 2023 Six Hours of the Glen, and he is the two-time winner of both the Indianapolis 8 Hour and 24 Hours of Spa in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. In addition, Kurtz has won many championships, including the 2023 SRO GT World Challenge America Team & Drivers' Championship, the 2023 Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Championship Driver Category, and the 2023-24 Asia Le Mans LMP2 Championship.