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 Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds 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.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far 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 secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
