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 estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
