Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull'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 to 2021.
