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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

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

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

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.

An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

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

The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.