Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
