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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

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

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

Ownership Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson 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 F1."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought 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 trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

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