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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

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

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.

An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake 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 increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

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 has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.

Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.