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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Growth

The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.

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 behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.