Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
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 British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.