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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 Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently 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 Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

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's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.