Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
