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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 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 industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.

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

Present Performance

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

Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth 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 consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.