Toto Wolff Set to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise 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 was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind 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 by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.