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

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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