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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

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 Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.