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

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.

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.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations 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 featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Present Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year 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 consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.