Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
