Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
