Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
