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

This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who holds one-third 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 chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Increase

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

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in 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.

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

Present Performance

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.