Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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