Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
