Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of 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 has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
