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

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

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

The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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