Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
