Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two 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.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
