Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.