Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
