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 Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
