An F1 team principal has officially announced a milestone in his personal wealth, after Toto Wolff was reported to have become the first billionaire.
The Mercedes team boss also owns a significant stake in the team he runs as CEO, and given the rapid rise in the team's fortunes over the past decade, his success has followed suit. Reflected, his return on investment has been more than very significant. Mercedes itself.
So when we looked at the reported net worth of all F1 team principals across the paddock as of 2024, we found that some teams were ranked higher than others.
Toto Wolff Net Worth – $1.6 billion [£1.27bn]
Famous American business magazine Forbes has named Mercedes CEO and team principal Wolff on its official list of sports billionaires for the first time, saying he has achieved the milestone of becoming a billionaire in April 2023. .
The publication reports that his net worth increased by $600 million in 2024 due to the increase in the value of his Mercedes stock.
The Silver Arrows boss runs the team on a day-to-day basis, but also owns a one-third stake in the Mercedes F1 operation, along with parent company Daimler AG and “principal partner” INEOS.
Wolff's professional background was in banking, and he made his fortune by founding two investment companies, but his first foray into F1 came in 2009 when he put money into Williams, before taking an early stake in Mercedes at the end of 2012. This was due to the purchase of 30% of the amount for $50. m – However, given the team's subsequent success, the value of his stock in the team could be significantly higher than what he paid for it.
Combined with his other business successes, Wolff became by some distance the richest F1 team principal.
Christian Horner Net Worth – $50 million [£40m]
Although there is a huge gap between first and second place on this list, Red Bull team boss Horner remains one of the richest people working in F1.
His reported salary is thought to be more than $10 million a year at Red Bull, making him the highest paid individual F1 team principal in the paddock.
Horner was appointed as head of Red Bull when it entered F1 and, at just 31 years old, became F1's youngest team principal.
He quit driving, set up the junior formula Arden team, invested and even considered bringing Arden into F1, but in 2004 an energy drinks company bought Jaguar's existing operations in Milton Keynes. At that time, he was appointed as the head of Red Bull. .
Horner has managed teams throughout his time in the sport and has won seven drivers' titles and six constructors' titles during his tremendous success in F1.
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Alessandro Arunni Bravi net worth – $5 million [£4m]
Arunni Bravi is not officially a team principal in Stakes F1, but rather is referred to as a “team principal” under CEO and former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl, who has joined Fred Vasseur's move to Ferrari. After that, he took command.
However, the lawyer has been serving as Sauber's legal advisor since 2017, and has extensive motorsports experience, including serving as the team representative for Trident and ART GP2/Formula 2 teams in the past, and has been on Sauber's Board of Directors for several years. has been appointed.
James Vowles – $5 million [£4m]
Vohles is one of F1's new team principals, having first taken up the top job at Williams in 2023, but the longtime strategy director at Mercedes has been a key figure behind the team's title wins throughout the turbo-hybrid era. He was one of the cogs. Naturally, he will be in the highest paying position.
Boules spent time with BAR, Honda, Brawn and Mercedes at Brackley, working his way up to director of motorsport strategy and eventually becoming new Williams team principal in time for the 2023 season following Jost's departure. Was chosen. Capito.
Fred Vasseur – $3 million [£2.5m]
With his move to Ferrari, Fred Vasseur, who has spent the past six years as team principal at Alfa Romeo Sauber and Renault, is likely to move to the top of the list of F1 team principals' net worth in the future.
He has moved on to one of the most prestigious and high-pressure jobs in F1, and with his salary at the Scuderia expected to exceed $5 million a year, he is unlikely to move up this list in the future. It is expected. Year.
Andrea Stella – $1.5 million [£1.2m]
Like Valls at Williams, Stella has been in the paddock for many years with various teams, and this will be his first role as a team principal in F1.
After Andreas Seidl moved to Sauber, Stella took the reins at McLaren and was promoted to racing director of the team, having previously worked under Seidl.
He started his career in F1 with Ferrari in the early 2000s, serving as performance engineer for Michael Schumacher throughout his dominant period with the Scuderia, then race engineer for Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso before joining the team in 2015. Moved to McLaren.
Mike Clack – $1 million [£805,000]
Kluck will replace Otmar Szafnauer at Aston Martin in his first role as team principal, but his experience in the sport dates back to the mid-2000s at BMW Sauber, where he worked as chief engineer.
He worked in multiple different series across motorsport in an engineering capacity during the 2010s, spending eight years with BMW in IMSA, Formula E, GT and DTM, sandwiched between stints with Porsche's World Endurance Championship team. , then joined Aston Martin in 2022. .
If Aston Martin continues its upward trajectory under his leadership, it is expected that his income will also increase over time.
Bruno Famin – unknown
Bruno Famin, who took over the reins at Alpine on an interim basis from Otmar Szafnauer in 2023, will continue in his role as team boss on a full-time basis in 2024.
He has previously held senior positions in the company, and his net worth is expected to be high.
Ayao Komatsu – unknown
F1's newest team boss, who is in a similar position to Fammin, has no reported net worth, but has probably earned a decent salary for most of his F1 career.
Ayao Komatsu spent time at BAR and Lotus, before moving to Haas in 2016 to become trackside engineering director, before becoming team principal in 2024, replacing Gunter Steiner.
Laurent Mequise – unknown
Like other new team principals, Laurent Mequise doesn't have a widely reported net worth, but he's probably been paid a much more respectable salary having worked in senior positions throughout his career.
He takes over from Franz Tost at RB, which rebranded from AlphaTauri in early 2024, and was previously with the Faenza-based team as chief engineer during his time at Toro Rosso.
He spent nine years there from 2005 to 2014 before joining the FIA and rising to become F1 deputy race director, becoming Ferrari sporting director in 2018 and promoted to deputy team principal and racing director in 2021. He resigned from his post. Scuderia in 2023.
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