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

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

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful film 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 Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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