Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
