Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 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's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
