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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.

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

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.