Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races 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 won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
