Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present 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 won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
