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

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – 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, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.

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

Ownership Breakdown

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

An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

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

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

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Standings

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

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

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