Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
