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Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

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

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

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

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

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 earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.

Present Standings

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

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

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