Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
