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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 estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

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

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.

Present Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.