Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
