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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.

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

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

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.