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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 – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.

Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Breakdown

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

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Increase

This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.

The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the box-office performance 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 film and the most successful sports film to date.

Present Performance

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

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.