Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
