Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
