Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
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, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
