Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
