Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far 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 consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
