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Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

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

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.

Current Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.