Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
