Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races 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.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
