Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
