Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn

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

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity 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 more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.

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

Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.