Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
