Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
