Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
