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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.

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

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Growth

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

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

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 team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.

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

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