Wolff Set to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
