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

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Financial Growth

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star 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 ever released.

Current Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.