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

Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.