🔗 Share this article

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

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

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

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

Shareholder Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Their lead driver 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 secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.