🔗 Share this article

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

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

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

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Performance

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

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

The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.