Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
