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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film to date.

Current Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far 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 won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.