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

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake 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 chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.

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

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.