Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
