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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.

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

Shareholder Structure

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

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

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

The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

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

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

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

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