Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
