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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

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

The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Performance

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

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

The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.