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

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.