Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
