Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "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 the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
