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

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

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

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

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake 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 the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

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

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