Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent 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 valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
