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

The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.

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

The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Ownership Structure

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

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

The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

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

It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.

Current Performance

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

Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.