Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn

Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.

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

The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.