Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised 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 shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
