Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell 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-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
