Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
