Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
