Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
