Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.