Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
