Mercedes' Toto Wolff has praised the cost cap introduced into the world of Formula 1 as it 'protected us from ourselves.'
“The cost cap was based on a blueprint that existed in the US for a long time. In the NFL and NBA, you have a limit to what you can spend on your roster. F1 introduced a cost cap on technical development, which was the game changer for the business side of F1. Suddenly, we were profitable.”
Wolff personally has become incredibly wealthy following F1’s rise in popularity with the 51-year-old Austrian not only acting as CEO and team principal of Mercedes but also owning a 33% stake. In August 2022, Forbes valued Wolff’s personal wealth at $540 million . Speaking about his way into the sport and his continued relationship with Mercedes, Wolff said the initial plan was to just stay for three years.“When I started at Mercedes in 2013, it was a project. It was clear I am signing a three-year contract. I am team principal and 30 per cent shareholder and when the project is done, I shall sell the shares back to Mercedes. That was agreed. After three years, it was good fun, everyone enjoyed the success, so we rolled it into another three years.
“It was a bit like my life in venture capitalism and private equity: buy, invest, develop, sell, but always an exit. Then, in 2020, I came to the conclusion that this is what I like to do. I like the sporting side, and I love the business side. And what we learnt during Covid is that content companies are crisis resilient. If you are able to put on a show, and broadcast it, it will entertain people.
“The real difficulty for media companies is to create content — and the most valuable content is sports. Variations of sports teams — NBA, NFL, soccer in Europe and now F1 — are limited franchises that are very difficult to replicate with a high entry-level barrier, because you have to invest a lot before you can become competitive and generate visibility.”
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