🔗 Share this article

Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Standings

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

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

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