Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

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

Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in market values 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 box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.