Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction 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 corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place 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, between 2014 and 2021.
