Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
