Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
