Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two 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.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
