Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his 33% stake in the team at a $6 billion valuation, according to multiple people familiar with the details.
If the agreement is completed, it would be a record valuation for an F1 team, topping the $4.7 billion for a McLaren LP stake sale last month. Wolff will remain in his current role with the Mercedes team, serving as CEO and team principal. The deal is for a mid-single-digit stake in the team through an investment in Wolff’s holding company, which owns the shares. Sportico could not identify the buyer.
“We will be making no comment on this,” a spokesperson for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team said via email. “The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners (Mercedes-Benz, Toto and INEOS) are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One.”
The current cap table of the Mercedes F1 team includes equal 33% stakes held by the German car manufacturer, Wolff and British chemical giant Ineos, of which British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is the chairman and controlling shareholder. Ineos closed its purchase in the Mercedes team in January 2022.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas posted revenue of $812 million in 2024—tops in F1—and Wolff earned more than $50 million in salary and dividends from his ownership stake.
Wolff was an investor in the Williams F1 racing team before joining Mercedes as an investor and team CEO in 2013, following the brand’s 2010 return to the sport. His investment valued the team at a reported $165 million. In 2014, Mercedes kicked off its eight-year run as F1 constructors’ champion, a stretch that included seven driver titles for Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes’ dominance coincided with the broadened appeal of F1, spurred by Liberty Media’s ownership and the popular Formula 1: Drive to Survive Netflix series, where Wolff played a starring role. New cost caps also dramatically transformed the sport’s economics and sent team valuations soaring.
Owning an F1 team used to be a license to light money on fire, and teams bailed out when the red ink was no longer palpable. In the 2010s, Caterham, HRT and Manor Racing all shut down their teams. In 2015, Renault bought Lotus for a symbolic £1.
In September, the owners of McLaren Racing acquired the 30% of the F1 team they didn’t own. MSP Sports Capital sold its stake in McLaren, which it paid £185 million for in December 2020. MSP’s exit was a 10x return, based on the 2020 pre-money valuation. It was the biggest sports team exit ever for an institutional fund.
Mercedes drivers finished second and fourth Sunday at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and the team sits second in the standings with three races to go. McLaren already clinched its second straight title.