Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
