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

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

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

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

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently 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 Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 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 straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.