Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction 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 corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

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

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.