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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.

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

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

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

Financial Growth

The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

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

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.