Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
