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

The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.

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

Ownership Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Standings

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

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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