Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races 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.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
