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

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

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

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

An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

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

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

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

The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.