Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Growth

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, 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 fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.