Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.