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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

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

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

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

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

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

Current Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races 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 straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.