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Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise 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 Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.

Current Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

Their lead driver 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 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.