Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m 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 success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead 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's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
