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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.

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

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.