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 £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
