Toto Wolff would welcome an F1 takeover

Toto wolff, Director of Mercedes Motorsport, would welcome a sale of CVC Capital Partners' F1 by Liberty Media. Speculation about a short-term buyout of the rights to the discipline gained momentum last weekend in the Monza paddock which hosted the Italian Grand Prix.

“It would be good news for the F1 if an investor wanted to repurchase the shares, admitted Toto Wolff. We saw at Monza how incredible it could be with this crowd and these full stands. Perhaps it’s good news that an American media outlet is buying F1. »

Toto Wolff believes that the motivations of the potential buyer, John Malone, already purchaser of the holding company of the Formula e, could bring positive elements to the discipline.

“We have done things in life when we are ready to buy at this price (the sum of CVC shares is estimated at 8,5 billion dollars or around 7,6 billion euros) and we are at the head of a media empire such as Liberty, underlined Toto Wolff. There are things to learn from the American model, particularly in terms of digital technology. »

The director of Mercedes Motorsport, however, did not want to give his opinion on a possible departure of Bernie Ecclestone at the head of the FOM.

“He did an incredible job. Perhaps the future will show us whether there were areas for improvement or not, but I can't speculate at the moment.", explained the Austrian.