Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns 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 CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
