🔗 Share this article

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, 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 principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

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

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.