Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.

Current Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.