Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
