🔗 Share this article

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

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

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

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

Ownership Structure

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

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired 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 Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 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.

Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.