Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
