Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain 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 Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
