Toto Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
