Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
