Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining 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 drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
