Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
