🔗 Share this article

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

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

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

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Breakdown

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

An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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