Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 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.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
