Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 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 and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
