🔗 Share this article

Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Financial Growth

The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.

Current Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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