🔗 Share this article

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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.

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

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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