Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.