Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion 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 Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Performance

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

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

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