Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
