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

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.

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

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

Shareholder Structure

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

An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

This surge 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 was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

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

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