Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
