Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
