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

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.

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

Shareholder Breakdown

The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."

Financial Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.

The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.

Current Performance

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

Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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