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

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

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Growth

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.

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

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.