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

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

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

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Current Performance

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.