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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.

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

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.

Present Standings

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

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

The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.