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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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