Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races 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.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.