Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
