Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 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 Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
