Wolff Set to Divest Stake 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 F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star 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 movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
