Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion 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 McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
