Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion 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 box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing'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.
