Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
