Toto Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn

Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Ownership Structure

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

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

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

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after 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 driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.