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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.

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

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

Financial Increase

The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Performance

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.

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

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