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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

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

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity 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 the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.

Current Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

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

The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.