Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport 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.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far 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 record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
