Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present 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 two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
