Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
