Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
