Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth 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 by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
