🔗 Share this article

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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.