Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is 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 an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson 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 Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
