Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
