Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion

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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

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

An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.

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

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.