Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits 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 Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
