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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

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

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes 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 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge 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 around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.