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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

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

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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