Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer 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.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix 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 secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.