Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
