Toto Wolff Set 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 Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
