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

Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

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

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.