Toto Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring 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 Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
