Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m 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 trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
