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

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

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

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth 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 in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Standings

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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