Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
