Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates 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 Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind 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 won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
