Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion

Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.

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

Current Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.