Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn

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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

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

An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.

Present Performance

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.