Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
