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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Ownership Structure

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

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Current Performance

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

Their lead driver 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.

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