🔗 Share this article

Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

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

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

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

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races 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 secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.