The Mercedes AMG F1 team was once set to be in the hands of a different team principal other than Toto Wolff. After a reported tussle with the higher-ups at Daimler, Wolff was in a situation of losing his Silver Arrows job. However, his insecurity to lose his seat saved him by not giving any chance to the Mercedes management as he managed to bring in a billionaire as an investor in the Brackley team.
Initially, Wolff was going through a power struggle with Ola Kallenius, the chairman of Mercedes-Benz. With both men not liking each other, it almost became clear that it was either the Austrian in the team or Mercedes in the sport. The situation went to such an extent that Wolff was presumed to be sacked until Ratcliffe stepped up.
Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe or Jim Ratcliffe, the CEO of INEOS, boarded the Mercedes ship at an expense of $20 million dollars initially. It was decided that INEOS will sponsor the Silver Arrows and the amount will be paid annually.
During his tussle with the new chairman at Mercedes, the 51-year-old managed to persuade the British billionaire to buy one-third of the Mercedes’ share for an amount of $200,000,000, which in the end, saved Toto Wolff.
Story of Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe and Toto Wolff at Mercedes
After saving Wolff, there were reports that another 33% of the team was on the brink to be bought in the next two years. With Ratcliffe owning 66% or two-thirds of the team, the rest will be owned by the Silver Arrows boss.
Furthermore, Business F1 also reported that by 2023, the team and the cars are to be renamed from Mercedes to INEOS. However, it’s still to take place as per the current scenario.
Interestingly, according to the Business F1’s report, Toto Wolff and Jim Ratcliffe are not friends but are partners with monetary interests as the latter could be a man who could swing his sword on either side if needed.
Wolff’s return of favor to Ratcliffe
After investing in the Mercedes AMG F1 team, Ratcliffe did everything but regretted it. With his huge investment, there came the uncalled perks, such as having the Silver Arrows engineers working for his cycling team. This also makes the Mercedes F1 team the best sports investment he has made so far.
Admittedly, the British businessman has ownership of a cycling and a sailing team apart from the Silver Arrows.
“There is always a risk of investing in sport but Mercedes is arguably the best sports team in the world,” reported Business F1, on Ratcliffe’s investment, who also wanted to buy Manchester United.
With the intention to market and change the image of the company, Jim Ratcliffe decided to make the investment and now has immense plans with the team in the future.
