🔗 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 Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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