Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised 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 stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
