Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
