Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson 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."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
