Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
