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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

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

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Ownership Breakdown

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

An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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