Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest 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 the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
