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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

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

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Growth

The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.

Current Performance

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

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

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