Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
