Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn

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

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Financial 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 Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix 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 individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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