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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.

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Valuation Increase

The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.

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

Present Standings

Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

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

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