Toto Wolff considering sale of small Mercedes stake as paddock hums with late‑season storylines
The week may have belonged to Audi’s slick 2026 concept reveal, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff quietly stole a chunk of the oxygen with talks over trimming his stake in the team.
Multiple outlets reported the Austrian is in advanced discussions to sell a sliver of his holding—effectively a mid‑single‑digit percentage of the Formula One operation—carved out from the company that houses his 33% share, rather than a slice of the team itself. The distinction matters: this is portfolio housekeeping, not a power shift.
Mercedes declined to pour fuel on it. “We will be making no comment on this,” a spokesperson said, before stressing the important bit: “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.”
Read between the lines and it looks like a tidy liquidity move at a time when F1 team valuations are stratospheric and the sport’s next ruleset is about to kick in. The boardroom door remains firmly shut.
Browning back in for Williams as Abu Dhabi weekend grows busier
Williams will hand Luke Browning his third FP1 outing of the year in Abu Dhabi, slotting the Brit into Alex Albon’s car for the opening session before turning him loose in the FW47 at the post‑race Young Driver Test.
“It’s going to be an unforgettable weekend in Abu Dhabi fighting for the Formula 2 title while getting back behind the wheel of the FW47, and it’s a challenge I’m going to relish,” Browning said. The Driver Academy graduate has looked composed whenever Williams has thrown him an opportunity this season; this is another nudge up the ladder as the Grove squad eyes 2026 and beyond.
Racing Bulls address Interlagos podium clip
Racing Bulls moved to cool a minor social media flare‑up after a video circulated showing a team member appearing to give a thumbs‑down as Lando Norris collected the winner’s trophy at Interlagos. The Faenza outfit said the matter was handled internally and that the gesture “doesn’t reflect our team’s values or the spirit of VCARB.”
It’s the sort of quick, tidy response teams have learned to issue in an era when a five‑second clip can dominate the discourse. No names, no public finger‑wagging—just a reminder to play the ball, not the man.
Inside the 2026 crunch: Red Bull’s Ford PU hits peak stress
The 2026 power unit build-up is entering the sweaty‑palmed phase. Speaking on Red Bull’s in‑house Talking Bull podcast, Laurent Mekies called the project a “crazy” challenge and said the Ford‑branded unit has been on the dyno “for a while now,” with only months to go before track mileage beckons.
That’s the reality as the clock runs down on the biggest reset of the hybrid era. For Red Bull Powertrains and Ford, getting from dyno cell to the back of a car without losing performance or reliability in the handover is where championships are won—or lost—before a wheel turns. Peak stress now, payoff later if it all sings.
Lawson’s steel draws Verstappen parallels
Liam Lawson’s seventh in Brazil didn’t blow up the results sheet, but the way he did it raised eyebrows. The Kiwi dragged a one‑stopper to the flag, nursing a single set for 52 laps and still swinging in the fight when others faded. Former F1 driver Christijan Albers likened that mindset to Max Verstappen: a little uncompromising, very sure of himself, not afraid to stick it on the line.
“He has a certain attitude that is a bit like Max,” Albers said on De Telegraaf’s F1 podcast. “He is not afraid, he really doesn’t care about anything.” High praise, and the kind that tends to linger when teams weigh up who they want in the car for 2026’s brave new world.
What it all means, in short
– Wolff’s potential stake trim looks surgical, not seismic. Mercedes insists the structure and commitment aren’t changing.
– Williams keeps feeding Browning seat time at exactly the right moment—while Albon’s side of the garage plays the team game.
– Racing Bulls put a pin in a podium‑side kerfuffle before it became a problem.
– Red Bull‑Ford’s 2026 unit is alive and revving in the cell; now comes the painful march to first fire‑up in a car.
– Lawson keeps stacking grown‑up drives that do more for a career than a catchy headline.
It’s the kind of late‑season Wednesday where the sport feels like it’s already straddling two calendars: one foot in Abu Dhabi, another in 2026. And that’s usually when the most interesting decisions get made.
