Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
