Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff with Mercedes F1 team
Team Principal Wolff has guided the Mercedes team to historic achievements in Formula 1

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

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's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.

Andrea Cunningham
Andrea Cunningham

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