Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
