Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
