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

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

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

An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix 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.

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