Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 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's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
