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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Current Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.