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

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following 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, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

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

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

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.