🔗 Share this article

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in market values 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 Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.

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

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

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

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