Toto Wolff 'emotional' after selling last Williams shares

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team boss Toto Wolff has sold his final 5% of shares in the Williams to US businessman Brad Hollinger.

The Austrian first become invested in Williams in 2009 with a 15% stake in the British team but has slowly reduced his involvement after taking on a senior management role at Mercedes in 2013.

Wolff sold on his last 5% of shares in Williams to Hollinger who now takes the second-highest stake in the team with a total of 15%, only behind Sir Frank Williams who holds a 52% stake, while co-founder Sir Patrick Head holds 9%, with 21% listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and 4% held by an employee trust.

"I am surprised how emotional I am about this day, to be cutting my final business ties to [team founder] Sir Frank Williams and to the team at Williams," Wolff said. "Having entered the team from a pure investment perspective, I soon found myself in a much more active role, helping to restructure this great independent F1 team.

"I am proud to have joined the sport with a team of true passionate racers, where we had to make spot-on decisions for the future of the business and its employees; I learned some lessons the hard way, but they were all valuable for understanding the industry."

Sir Frank Williams has thanked Wolff for his time and investment in the team over the past seven years and is confident the team has secured a suitable replacement in Hollinger who can support Williams long term.

"Given his role at Mercedes-Benz, a full divestment in Toto's shareholding became inevitable," Sir Frank Williams said. "We thank him for this judiciousness in only selling to a suitable buyer when the time was right.

"In Brad Hollinger, Toto has sold his full shareholding to a highly successful businessman with an immense passion for Formula 1 and our team - he is a great asset."