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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

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

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Growth

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

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

Current Performance

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

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 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 straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.