Toto Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake 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 were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
