Toto Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 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 Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.

Current Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.