Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
