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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

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

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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 constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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