Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
