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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Growth

This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.

It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.

Current Standings

Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.

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

Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.