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Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake 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 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

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

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.