Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion 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 – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
