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

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.

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

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.

Current Performance

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.