Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
