Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m 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 trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed 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.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
