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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.

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

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

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

This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

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

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

Present Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.