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 estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following 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 the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 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 the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
