Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
