Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
