Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
