Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of 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 earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
