Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion 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 – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
