🔗 Share this article

Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

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

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.

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

Present Standings

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

Their lead driver British 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.

Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.