Toto Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations 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 success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing 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 remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
