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 Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
