Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind 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, from 2014 to 2021.
