Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
