Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead 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 won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
