Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has announced he has sold the remaining stake he had in Williams F1 team.
Wolff had owned a total of 15 percent of the Williams team but since 2014 he has sold ten percent of his stake to American healthcare executive Brad Hollinger and he has now sold the remaining five percent to Hollinger.
“I am surprised how emotional I am about this day, to be cutting my final business ties to Sir Frank and to the team at Williams,” said Wolff.
“I am proud to have joined the sport with a team of true passionate racers, where we had to make spot-on decisions for the future of the business and its employees; I learned some lessons the hard way, but they were all valuable for understanding the industry.
“Today, I look back with pride on the first ever IPO of an F1 team in Frankfurt, and can see the next generation of the Williams family leading the team into a bright future.
“The plan to sell my stake was a long-term one agreed with Daimler in 2013 – but it was always important to find the right investor, who was doing it for the right reasons.
“Brad is that guy: he’s a serious businessman with the right long-term perspective about Williams and Formula One – and a true passion for racing. I wish him and everybody at Williams all the best for the future.
“I will always remember this period with thanks for the lessons I learned from Sir Frank and his team – it was a great privilege to be part of the Williams story.”
Hollinger has now become the second largest stakeholder in the Williams team after Sir Frank Williams, who owns a controlling share of 52%. Interestingly this move now makes Hollinger a larger stakeholder than Williams co-founder Patrick Head who only holds 10 percent of the shares.
Speaking after Wolff’s announcement, Sir Frank Williams said: “Toto has become a great friend of Williams over the past few years and we thank him for his contribution in what has been a time of great transformation for our company since he first invested in 2009.”
“Given his role at Mercedes-Benz, a full divestment in Toto’s shareholding became inevitable and we thank him for this judiciousness in only selling to a suitable buyer when the time was right.
“In Brad Hollinger, Toto has sold his full shareholding to a highly successful businessman with an immense passion for Formula One and our team – he is a great asset.”
