Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far 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 drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
