Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 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 Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
