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Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz 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 management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

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

This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

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

Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.