Toto Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
