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

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

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

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Valuation Growth

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

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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