Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
