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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction values 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 ownership structure in September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders 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 management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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