Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
