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Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m 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 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.