Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.