Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing 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.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 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 $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
