Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is 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 – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
