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Toto Wolff is engaged 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 – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted 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 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 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.