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

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.

Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

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

An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Present Performance

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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