Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to 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 debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
