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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Growth

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Present Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.