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

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

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

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

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

The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.

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

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.