Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, 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-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
