Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
