Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 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 driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
