Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.