Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
