Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

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

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

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

An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.

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

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.