Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
