Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
