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

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in the team 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 this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.

Current Standings

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

Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 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.

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