Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
