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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after 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 the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

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

This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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