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

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million 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 Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.

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

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