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

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

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

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.

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

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