Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies 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 in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
