Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last 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 CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
