Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
