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Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.

Shareholder Structure

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."

Financial Growth

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

This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.

Present Performance

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races 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.

The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.