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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

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

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

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

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

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

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

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