Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 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's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
