Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two 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.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
