Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth 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 straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
