Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 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 secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
