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Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.

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

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits 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 featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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