Wolff Set to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
