Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
