Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

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

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

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

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

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.

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

Financial Growth

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

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

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

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.

Present Performance

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer 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 Racing's Max Verstappen.

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