🔗 Share this article

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

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

Shareholder Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

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

The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Current Standings

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.