Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion

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

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

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.

Current Performance

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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