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

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

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

The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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