Williams partially acquired by an Austrian investment company

An Austrian investment company acquired a significant share of Williams F1’s capital from its two co-owners Frank Williams and Patrick Head this week.

The Williams F1 team has been co-directed since 1977 by Patrick Head and Sir Franck Williams. But last Friday, a team statement announced the sale of part of the two men’s shares to the Austrian investment company of Christian Toto Wolff. The Austrian will now sit with the two men and have a say in important and strategic decisions.

In addition to his investment company, Wolff races in FIA GT and the Austrian Rally Championship. The 37-year-old, originally from Vienna, has purchased between 10 and 49 percent of the shares in the F1 team. Wolff thus intends to carry out a purely commercial operation with the Grove team: “My investments in Williams are purely strategic,” he admits in an Austrian sports daily.

« With the recent withdrawals of some car manufacturers from F1, the capital shares held by private funds will increase. I expect the value of F1 to increase in the coming seasons, so it is purely commercial. »

Wolff was already expected last year alongside Mika Hakkinen to buy shares in the McLaren team. But the project did not materialize, unlike the one with Williams: « I met Sir Frank [Williams] and Patrick [Head] in May for the first time. No one had really made a move towards the other, and we just started talking. Then, we realized that our ideas for the future were similar and we reached an agreement. I have a deep respect for the work of Adam [Parr] and Sam [Michael] in the team. It’s the only structure in F1 at the moment that emphasizes competition. »

No statement has revealed the capital of Williams F1 now owned by Wolff. He explains: « For contractual reasons, I cannot disclose my shares. It is above 10% and below 49%… »

As a minority shareholder, Wolff will be involved in the team’s future, offering his opinion on every strategic decision of the team. The Austrian is also involved with Mercedes in DTM, funding Susie Stoddart’s season. However, no rapprochement is foreseeable between the German firm and the Grove team.