Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following 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 five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
