Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing 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.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's 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 by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.