Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining 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 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
