Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
