Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.

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

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far 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 record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.