🔗 Share this article

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

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

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

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

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