Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion 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 was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
