Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
