Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
