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

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Ownership Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays 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 value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion 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 Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

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

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