Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
