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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged 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 an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Ownership Structure

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

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

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

Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.