Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

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

The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.