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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates 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 starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.