Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 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's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
