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Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record 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 a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

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

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

Current Performance

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.