Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining 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 fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
