🔗 Share this article

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

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

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.

Present Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.