Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing 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.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
