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

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion 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 featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.

Current Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 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's Max Verstappen.

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