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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

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

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

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

An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

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

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.