F1 team principals’ rich list: Net worth figures revealed for Wolff, Horner and more

One of the F1 team principals has now officially hit a landmark in personal wealth, after it was reported that Toto Wolff has become a billionaire for the first time.

The Mercedes team boss also owns a significant stake in the team he runs as chief executive, and given the rapid rise in the team’s fortunes in the past decade, his return on investment has been more than significant as his success has been reflected along with that of Mercedes itself.

With that, we have taken a look at the reported net worth of all the F1 team principals throughout the paddock as of 2023, with some ranking more highly than others.

Toto Wolff net worth – $1billion [£805m]

Prominent American business magazineForbeslisted Mercedes CEO and team principal Wolff as having hit the landmark of becoming a billionaire in April 2023, making it onto the official list of Forbes Sports Billionaires for the first time.

The Silver Arrows boss runs the team on a day-to-day basis but he also owns a one-third stake in the Mercedes F1 operation, alongside parent company Daimler AG and ‘principal partners’ INEOS.

Wolff’s professional background came through banking and he gained wealth after founding two investment firms, but his first foray in Formula 1 came via putting money into Williams in 2009, before purchasing an initial 30% stake in Mercedes at the end of 2012 for a reported $50m – though given the team’s subsequent success, the value of his stake in the team is now likely to be substantially higher than what he paid for it.

This along with his other business success makes Wolff, by quite some distance, the richest of the F1 team principals.

Christian Horner net worth – $50m [£40m]

It’s a significant gap between first and second on this list, but Red Bull team principal Horner still counts himself among the richest people working in Formula 1.

His reported salary is also believed to be more than $10m per year at Red Bull, which would make him the highest-paid of the individual F1 team principals in the paddock.

Horner became the youngest team principal in Formula 1 when he was placed in charge at Red Bull when they entered the sport, with the Briton being only 31 at the time.

He quit driving and founded the Arden team in the junior formulas, making investments and had even looked to bring Arden into Formula 1, before being put in charge of Red Bull when the energy drinks company bought out Jaguar’s existing operation in Milton Keynes back in 2004.

Horner has overseen the team throughout their time in the sport, which has seen six Drivers’ titles and five Constructors’ titles among their considerable success in Formula 1.

PlanetF1.com recommends

F1 race time: How long is a Formula 1 Grand Prix?

F1’s penalty system explained: How does a driver pick up a penalty from the FIA?

Lawrence Stroll: How the Aston Martin F1 owner made his $3.6 billion fortune

Alessandro Alunni Bravi net worth – $5m [£4m]

Alunni Bravi is not officially Alfa Romeo’s team principal, rather called their ‘team representative’ under chief executive and former McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl, and he took the reins following the departure of Fred Vasseur as he moved to Ferrari.

He has been on the board of Sauber for several years, however, with the lawyer having been their general counsel since 2017 and his eclectic motorsport experience stretching to having been team principal of the Trident and ART GP2/Formula 2 teams in the past.

Guenther Steiner net worth – $5m [£4m]

The fame afforded to Haas team principal Steiner by his starring role in Netflix seriesDrive to Survivehas helped boost his presence in the paddock and popularity among fans, and his income is unlikely to have been harmed as a result either.

In fact, the Haas team boss released a diary of his experiences of the 2022 season,Surviving to Drive, with that particular book deal set to boost his income alongside his full-time salary for Haas.

Steiner’s Formula 1 experience stretches back two decades, having worked in the technical teams for Jaguar and Red Bull before taking the helm at Haas when their entry into the sport was confirmed in 2014.

Otmar Szafnauer net worth – $5m [£4m]

The Alpine team principal moved across from Aston Martin at the start of 2022, but his experience in the Formula 1 paddock stretches back a long way, having been a part of BAR, Honda and Force India, as one of its several guises at ‘Team Silverstone’, which became Aston in 2021.

Szafnauer had served as operations director at BAR and subsequently became a member of the board of the Honda Formula 1 team, before moving to Silverstone and Force India, staying there through its time as Racing Point and its first season as Aston Martin, before departing for Alpine.

Franz Tost net worth – $5m [£4m]

One of the most experienced figures in the Formula 1 paddock, Tost has gained a reputation for helping develop some of the sport’s finest talents in his long stint as team principal of AlphaTauri, and under its previous guise of Toro Rosso.

The sister team of Red Bull have always been staunch in maintaining their competitive independence from the ‘senior’ outfit in the paddock, but Tost has helped oversee the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz all come through the Red Bull ranks in their early stints in Formula 1.

Along with Horner, Tost is one of the longest-serving F1 team principals on the grid, having joined the team when Toro Rosso joined the grid after they took over from Minardi.

James Vowles – $5m [£4m]

Vowles is one of the newest team principals in Formula 1, having taken on his first top job with Williams in 2023, but the long-time strategy director at Mercedes was one of the key cogs behind the team’s title successes throughout the turbo hybrid era and will naturally have been put into one of its highest-paid positions.

Vowles was with the Brackley team throughout their time as BAR, Honda, Brawn and Mercedes, working his way up to becoming motorsport strategy director, and was eventually chosen to become the new Williams team principal in time for the 2023 season after the departure of Jost Capito.

Fred Vasseur – $3m [£2.5m]

Moving to Ferrari is likely to see Fred Vasseur move up the reported net worth list among F1 team principals in future, having previously been at Alfa Romeo Sauber and Renault as team boss over the previous six years.

He has moved into one of the most prestigious, and most highly-pressured, jobs in Formula 1, and his reported salary is expected to exceed more than $5m per year with the Scuderia, so expect him to move up this list in the coming years.

Andrea Stella – $1.5m [£1.2m]

Like Vowles at Williams, Stella is also in his first role as team principal in Formula 1, having been a long-time presence in the paddock with different teams.

Stella took the reins at McLaren after Andreas Seidl left for Sauber, earning a promotion from racing director with the team having worked under Seidl previously.

He began his career in Formula 1 with Ferrari in the early 2000s, serving as performance engineer to Michael Schumacher through his dominant years with the Scuderia before becoming race engineer for Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, before moving to McLaren in 2015.

Mike Krack – $1m [£805,000]

Krack is in his first role as a team principal, having replaced Otmar Szafnauer at Aston Martin, but his experience in the sport goes back to BMW Sauber in the mid-2000s, where he worked as chief engineer.

他继续在多个不同系列交流工作ross motorsport in the 2010s in an engineering capacity, spending eight years with BMW in IMSA, Formula E, GT and DTM sandwiched among a stint with Porsche’s World Endurance Championship team, before joining Aston Martin in 2022.

如果阿斯顿·马丁继续向上网络y under his leadership, expect his income to rise as time goes on.