Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of 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 debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
