Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
