Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.