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

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

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.

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

Ownership Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.

Current Standings

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.

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

The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.