Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part 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 – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
