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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

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

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

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

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.