Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
