Toto Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
