Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion

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 – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

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

This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

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

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

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

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

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.