Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

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

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 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 Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently 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 starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.