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

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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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