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Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.

The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.

The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.

A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."

Valuation Increase

The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.

This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.

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

Current Performance

Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.

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

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