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

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

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

Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.

Shareholder Structure

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

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.

This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.

Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

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