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

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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

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

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

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

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

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

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