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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 Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.

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

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance 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 movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

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

Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.