🔗 Share this article

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

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

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

Shareholder Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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