Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing'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.
