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

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

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

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Present Performance

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

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

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.