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

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

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

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss 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 each also own one-third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.