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

Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of 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 in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.