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

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.

An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Growth

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

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Performance

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

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.