Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
