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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

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

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

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

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

Current Performance

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.