Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
