Toto Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates 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 was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
