Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
