Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 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 has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
