🔗 Share this article

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

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.

Current Standings

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix 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.

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